Small secessionist group gathers at SC State House Saturday

A small group of South Carolina secessionists stood on the State House grounds Saturday near the spot where the Confederate flag, until recently – they believe, rightly – flew.

The protesters gathered in the wake of the flag’s removal and the apparent movement against other Confederate symbols around the state and the country since the racially motivated Emanuel AME Church shootings in Charleston. The group of four stood to defend their heritage and support the cause of South Carolina seceding from the United States, they said.

The group protested silently, facing the Gervais Street traffic.

“There can be no reform without secession and independence,” read a flier the group distributed. “Washington DC does not represent us, nor does it work in our best interests. We want and deserve to be free of it.”

A man by the last name of Bessinger who declined to give his first name said the United States, like other “historical empires” would not and could not continue to exist in its current form forever.

A woman who also declined to give her name stood waving an Irish flag. Like the Confederate flag, she said, it is a symbol of her heritage.

Both she and Bessinger had attended pro-Confederate flag rallies at the State House in recent weeks, they said.

“History is history is history. You can’t change history,” the woman said. “The history books are written by the victors – you know that. All I’m saying is people need to delve deeper.”

This story was originally published July 25, 2015 at 12:10 PM.