It's unfortunate that extremists on both sides of this issue are trying to drive people further apart. The monument was vandalized sometime between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m., Public Safety spokesman Sid Gaulden said. There were no immediate arrests. The Confederate flag was raised above the Statehouse in 1962 to commemorate the Civil War centennial, though critics suggest it also was in defiance of the civil rights movement. Flag supporters say it is an important part of the state's heritage.
Opponents say it represents slavery and hatred.
While Republicans pushed for the Senate-passed plan, Democrats worked to hold together their coalition opposing it. Among their plans was a new one to fly five war-era flags at the monument and allow the Confederate flag to fly from the dome on the Confederate holiday. Legislators worked while many state employees got the day off for South Carolina's first permanent holiday to recognize Confederate Memorial Day. It was part of a bill signed by Hodges last week that also created a permanent Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday in February. A teen-ager has died after being shot in the head outside a nightclub here, Dorchester County sheriff's deputies say.