White supremacist group KKK plans to rally against removal of pro-slavery flag in Civil War

The white supremacist group Ku Klux Klan is to hold a rally next month at South Carolina's capitol in support of the Confederate battle flag.

The rally is planned as the state legislature was debating whether to remove the flag that is seen by many as a strong symbol of racial hatred after a racially motivated attack on a black church, local media said.

According to a local media report, the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan from North Carolina, a local chapter which called itself the largest Klan in the country, will hold the rally on July 18, one month after a white gunman shot down nine black churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina.

The request for rally, already approved by state officials, came on June 23, only one day after South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley announced that she would call on state lawmakers to start debating the removal of the flag.

The Ku Klux Klan, also known as the KKK, is known for its history of violence against African-Americans.

Dylann Roof, a 21-year-old white man, started a shooting spree on June 17 night at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, and after arrest, he reportedly told police that he wanted to start a "race war".

The incident became more racially charged after a racist manifesto purportedly written by Roof and photos depicting him holding the Confederate battle flag surfaced on-line.

A historic but deeply divisive symbol, the Confederate battle flag belonged to the pro-slavery side in the Civil War. Some hailed it as a symbol of Southern heritage while others regarded it as a potent symbol of slavery and white supremacy.

Roof's association with the flag soon reignited debates on the removal of the flag from the grounds of the South Carolina State House. Endi