An African-American woman removed the Confederate flag Saturday from a pole near the state capitol in South Carolina one day after U.S. President Barack Obama called it “a reminder of systemic oppression and racial subjugation.”

The South Carolina Department of Public Safety said in a statement that the flag, long a symbol of Southern pride, was replaced within an hour and no further damage was caused.

Following the removal of the flag, Brittany Newsome, 30, and James Ian Tyson, also 30, both from North Carolina were arrested and charged with defacing a monument, a misdemeanor charge in such incident.

Newsome allegedly climbed a flagpole outside the state capitol in Columbia, the capital of South Carolina, and took down the Confederate flag. Tyson, who had accompanied the woman, stood in a restricted area near the pole.

Activists claim responsibility

A group of local activists claimed responsibility for planning the removal of the flag.

In his eulogy for a slain state senator and pastor Friday, Obama began singing “Amazing Grace” and was joined by ministers and some of thousands of attendees at the College of Charleston in South Carolina.

Across the United States, support is growing to remove the Confederate flag from public places after the racially charged massacre of nine black worshipers inside a Charleston, South Carolina, church.

By law, the banner flies at a memorial on the State House grounds honoring soldiers who fought for the pro-slavery Confederacy during the American Civil War.

The South Carolina Legislature is expected to begin debating next week whether to remove the flag from the memorial.
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