BLOOMSBURG, Columbia County — Columbia County Commissioners approved an activist’s request to stage a burning of a combined Nazi-Confederate flag in front of the Columbia County Courthouse on September 22, according to a press release from organizer Gene Stilp.
The event, scheduled for 11 a.m., is planned to coincide with the opening of the Bloomsburg Fair, one of the largest fairs in Pennsylvania.
Stilp appeared before a working session of the Columbia County Commissioners to make the request. He told commissioners the public would be safe from any flames, displaying a large metal garbage can he planned to use to collect ashes from the burning of the flag. He also said he did not expect any trouble from counter-protesters, noting that there would be sheriff’s department deputies assigned for security.
“Both the nazi flag and the confederate flag stand for hatred, racism, bigotry and death for minorities,” Stilp said in the press release. “It is only appropriate to combine the flags, one image on each side, and then burn the combined nazi-confederate flag in protest. Is rural Pennsylvania a hotbed for racism, white supremacy, racial intimidation? With the number of confederate flags that fly on the poles and porches on the highways and byways, it would appear so. The flag is used by the KKK and we should see where KKK members live in Pennsylvania.”
