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| Confederate flag taken down from South Carolina capitol | Confederate flag taken down from South Carolina capitol |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| The Confederate flag has been removed from South Carolina capitol grounds in a ceremony attended by large crowds. | |
| A bill calling for the banner to be taken down was signed on Thursday by Republican Governor Nikki Haley after a long and fractious debate. | A bill calling for the banner to be taken down was signed on Thursday by Republican Governor Nikki Haley after a long and fractious debate. |
| The flag, a symbol of both racism and southern pride, was heavily associated with a gunman that killed nine black churchgoers in South Carolina in June. | The flag, a symbol of both racism and southern pride, was heavily associated with a gunman that killed nine black churchgoers in South Carolina in June. |
| It had stood on the state grounds for more than 50 years. | It had stood on the state grounds for more than 50 years. |
| Hundreds of people turned out to watch the event in Columbia on Friday morning. Some chanted "take it down" while they waited for the ceremony to begin. | |
| Shortly after 10:00 ET (14:00 GMT) an honour guard of Highway Patrol officers marched on to the grounds and lowered the flag. | |
| The banner will now be transported to a nearby museum where Governor Haley said people "can honour it appropriately". | |
| After the removal, President Barack Obama tweeted: "South Carolina taking down the confederate flag - a signal of good will and healing, and a meaningful step towards a better future." | |
| The flag was originally the battle emblem of the southern states in the American Civil War which tried to break away. | |
| South Carolina was the first state to leave the union in 1860. It restored the flag in the capitol grounds more than 50 years ago in protest at the civil rights movement. | |
| The backlash against it grew when nine black people were shot dead at a Charleston church on 17 June. | |
| Dylann Roof, the 21-year-old charged with the killings, was pictured holding the flag. |