In the culmination of a three and a half year legal fight, the Sons of Confederate Veterans began removing the pedestal that was once the foundation of a statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest in Memphis, TN.

They will also exhume his body and his wife’s, which are buried eight feet under the pedestal. The pedestal and the bodies will be relocated to Columbia, TN.

Forrest was a slave owner, a Confederate general, and the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. And while any one of those might be a dealbreaker for most, the 2017 removal of the statue itself angered those who continue to glorify the racist, secessionist, and losing ways of the Confederacy.

Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer, who was a key figure in getting the statue removed, was on hand Tuesday to watch and speak to the media. A man who later identified himself as George Johnson, paced behind Sawyer waving a Confederate flag while calling her “a communist.”

Trouble began when Sawyer plucked multiple small Confederate flags sitting atop the fence cordoning off the statue and threw them on the ground. Johnson, who was initially identified as a member of the construction crew, but was later revealed to be a volunteer, became triggered.

WMC reporter Chris Luther was on hand to document the incident.

This man, part of the construction crew, has been harassing and yelling at Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer as she came to give an interview to the media. pic.twitter.com/bwz1mJs1Fu

— Chris Luther (@cluther_wmc5) June 1, 2021

The man then started singing Dixie Land behind Sawyer. He also called her a Communist repeatedly. pic.twitter.com/9kGbRDoZ8a

— Chris Luther (@cluther_wmc5) June 1, 2021

The Sons of Confederate Veterans is footing the bill for the removal and relocation of the pedestal and the remains, to the tune of at least $150,000.

As to Johnson’s true motives, former federal prosecutor Ken White, who goes by the handle @PopeHat, had a thought.

Are we sure he’s not trying to surrender

— LolWhatInsurrectionHat (@Popehat) June 1, 2021

Watch above via WMC in Memphis.

The post Man Waves Confederate Flag, Sings ‘Dixie’ at Black Official Talking About the Removal of Confederate General’s Remains first appeared on Mediaite.

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