Overrun by "racist homophobes," the South Carolina Secessionist Party is breaking up, leader says [View all]

The leader of a group that led public demonstrations of the Confederate flag across South Carolina says the group has become so dominated by racists and homophobes that he can no longer be associated with it.

The Anderson Independent Mail reported Friday that James Bessenger, leader of the S.C. Secessionist Party, said, "The organization was taking a turn I didn't want it to take."

"The people genuinely interested in the history are less in number than people who are blatant and racist homophobes," Bessenger told the Independent Mail. "I don't want to be associated with an organization or movement riddled with those types of people."

The group's Facebook page has reportedly been deleted.

For anyone unfamiliar with the S.C. Secessionist Party: The group is not actually an organized political party, but rather mobilizes around general individual liberty issues, including prominently flying the Confederate flag in public places.

Read more: https://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/TheBattery/archives/2019/01/28/overrun-by-racist-homophobes-the-sc-secessionist-party-is-breaking-up-leader-says