Atlanta man drives nearly 3 hours to remove Confederate flag in South Carolina

An Atlanta man faces a trespassing charge after authorities say he drove nearly three hours to South Carolina to vandalize a Confederate flag.

The incident happened Saturday in Spartanburg, South Carolina, about 33 miles northeast of Greenville, according to a document filed by the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office.

Someone called the sheriff’s office that day to report a trespassing on southbound Interstate 85 at mile marker 76, the document states. A deputy arrived and spoke to a witness who said the 23-year-old man had climbed a fence and tried to pull down a Confederate flag.

The deputy spoke to the man, who admitted to climbing the fence because he disagreed with the Confederate flag.

The MP said the man also had tools such as a Dremel and drill bits.

The deputy wrote that there were “No Trespassing” signs along the fence the man climbed, adding that a day before the flag incident, someone had vandalized the same Confederate flag.

When the officer asked the man if he had been on the property that Friday night, he said no. He did, however, admit to driving from Atlanta to Spartanburg County to lower the flag.