PITTSBORO N.C. – Ahead of an expected rally in support of the “Our Confederate Heroes” monument at the historic courthouse, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is providing information before the rally takes place.

  • The rally is expected to take place Saturday, October 19 at the “Our Confederate Heroes” monument at the courthouse.
  • Some groups who are planning to attend are hate groups while others are “heritage”, paleo-libertarian, or “constitutional” groups.
  • Rallies have been occurring every weekend since September 14 after the Chatham County Board of Commissioners ordered for the statue to be removed.

The October 19 Pittsboro rally is expected to draw protestors from all across the country. Protestors will meet at the “Our Confederate Heroes” monument at the historic courthouse.

According to the SPLC’s Hatewatch, information about extremists who plan to attend was released.

Some groups planning to attend are SPLC-designated hate groups while others are “heritage”, paleo-libertarian, or “constitutional” groups.

Some of the groups include League of the South (LOS) which is an SPLC-designated hate group, The Hiwaymen, The Virginia Flaggers, and ACTBAC North Carolina which was listed as a hate group in 2016 and 2017.

Howard Graves, senior research analyst for the Southern Poverty Law Center, released the following statement:

“What started under the auspices of a ‘Confederate heritage’ monument protest took an overtly racist turn when a large Confederate flag was placed near Horton Middle School, a historically African American school located on private property. The Virginia Flaggers claimed responsibility, along with several other pro-Confederate groups. ACTBAC NC and members of the SPLC-designated hate group League of the South have also participated in protests since the Chatham County Board of Commissioners voted to remove the statue from in front of Pittsboro’s historic courthouse. Neo-Confederate groups like these spend untold amounts of time, money, and energy fighting imagined slights. Their aggressive efforts often result in arrests and sometimes violence. This rally will only provide extremists with another opportunity to intimidate, traumatize and undermine the will of a community that has already chosen to remove this symbol of white supremacy from its midst.”

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