A BLACK Lives Matter chapter was slammed for calling the American flag a “symbol of hatred” that is “not safe to be around.”
The Fourth of July post from BLM‘s Utah chapter said that when black Americans “see this flag we know the person flying it is a racist.”
The post goes on to say, “When we see this flag we know that the person flying it lives in a different America than we do.
“When we see this flag, we question your intelligence. We know to avoid you. It is a symbol of hatred.”
The post was met with so much backlash that the moderator of the chapter’s Facebook page appears to have deleted almost all of the comments, and disabled comments on future posts.
The Utah chapter’s founder Lex Scott told Fox News on Wednesday that her group created the original post to highlight how hate groups can “co-opt” the American flag without prompting backlash from people who defend it.
In follow-up posts on Facebook, the Utah BLM chapter doubled down by referencing a white supremacist group, Patriot Front, marching through Philadelphia holding flags over the weekend.
“Racists fly that flag,” BLM Utah chapter wrote.
“A group of wh1te supremacists literally went to Philly yesterday and they were all carrying that flag. Ask yourself why every racist wears that flag and flies that flag? Because it is a symbol of hate.”
In dozens of follow-up posts, the group suggests that anyone flying or displaying the flag in any way is a racist and a Republican.
“It is an honor to be able to say that we triggered every Republican in America,” another post read.
BLM Utah’s initial post was slammed by several state politicians.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox issued a statement saying the flag “stands for freedom and opportunity for all.
“It has stood the test of time as a beacon to the free and oppressed and too many lives have been lost to preserve that symbol and all its stands for.
“I refuse to let any white supremacy or Black Lives Matter groups change that.”
Utah Rep Burgess Owens wrote: “According to BLM Utah, flying the American flag is now racist and hateful.”
“What an insult to those who have fought, served, and died for our freedoms.”
BLM Utah is reportedly an independent chapter and is not affiliated with the national BLM organization, Fox News reported.
Scott issued a “final statement” attempting to expand on the matter further in a lengthy post on BLM Utah’s Facebook page on Tuesday.
“I want you to walk in my shoes for a second,” she wrote.
“I want you to picture this. You show up for a protest, and hundreds of armed White men show up. They have guns, they yell racial slurs at you, they are carrying and wearing American flags.”
“If you see that every person that hates you is carrying an American flag how would you feel about that flag?
“I feel fear. That is not up for debate. I feel like the person flying it is racist, because every racist that I have come in contact with is either wearing that flag or flying that flag.”
