Rebel flag at church viewed as hate crime

By By Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
A confederate flag attached to a front porch post of an African-American church in Hartselle under the cover of darkness on Martin Luther king Day should be treated as a hate crime, according to some church members and neighbors.
Mount Pleasant C.M.E Church on Bethel Street was the target of a hate crime, not a prank, said Ernest King, chairman of the church’s board of trustees.
He called on Hartselle Police Department and other law enforcement agencies to conduct a thorough investigation with the intent to find and punish the guilty party to the fullest extend of the law.
Hartselle police Lt. Robert Finn removed the flag at about 9:15 a.m. in response to a call his department received from a Bethel Street resident. He placed the flag in his car and left the scene after speaking to Annie Reeves, a Bethel Street resident.
When asked what happened to the flag, Finn pointed to the floor on the passenger side of his patrol car and said he believed it was placed on the church as a “prank.”
Shortly afterwards, about 20 people gathered at the scene to share their thoughts about the incident and speak with reporters.