Members of a state flag advocacy group were asked by Greenwood police to leave a downtown location Saturday morning because of allegedly interfering with the annual 300 Oaks Road Race.
Chief Ray Moore said that the Keesler Bridge had been reserved for the race, and that members of Save the Flag - Leflore County had strayed from the sidewalk along the bridge into the roadway, interfering with participants in the race.
Steve Miller, head of the pro-flag group, denied the accusation.
The group was formed last month after the Greenwood City Council and Leflore County Board of Supervisors decided to remove the state flag from local government buildings for as long as the Confederate battle emblem remains a part of the flag’s design.
“We know we’re not going to change their minds at the City Council,” said Miller. “If they’re not going to fly the state flag, we will.”
The group’s Saturday morning demonstration coincided with the annual race, sponsored by the Greenwood-Leflore County Chamber of Commerce. The race drew around 500 participants as well as numerous volunteers and spectators.
Miller said the pro-flag group gathered at the intersection of Grand Boulevard and Claiborne Avenue to fly the state flag at 7 a.m.
At 9:30 a.m., the group, which consisted of around 15 people, moved across the river to West Front Street.
Miller said the demonstrators were stopped on the bridge by a woman claiming to represent the Chamber of Commerce, who told them not to cross to the south bank.
Miller said that before his group began holding demonstrations last month, they checked with the chief of police. “He told us as long as we weren’t in the street, we didn’t need a permit,” said Miller.
Moore confirmed that directive. “You have that First Amendment right,” he said. “What they tried to do was to get up on the bridge that was reserved for the 300 Oaks Race.”
The group continued to the corner of Front and Fulton Streets, where it remained for a half- hour before being told to leave by a Greenwood police officer.
According to Miller, the officer told the demonstrators they would be charged with disorderly conduct if they did not leave but did not cite a specific reason.
Moore said that, according to his information, some members of the group were trying to eat food that had been provided for the benefit of the runners and walkers.
Miller said that the demonstrators did not take any food other than what “people in the race” had offered them.
The group moved a block away to the corner of Front and Howard Streets and remained there until 10:30 a.m.
“They complied,” said Moore, who also said that this was the first confrontation between the group and police. In general, according to Moore, “they’ve been really respectful.”
• Contact Nick Rogers at 581-7235 or nrogers@gwcommonwealth.com.
