MARTINSBURG, W.Va. (AP) - The West Virginia Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans is seeking permission to parade through downtown Martinsburg.
Media outlets report that the group has requested to use portions of Queen and Race streets on March 5 for the procession, which the group says will be in celebration of southern heritage and the birth of the Confederate flag 155 years ago. The Martinsburg City Council will consider the request Thursday.
The division's commander, Paul Williams, says that if the group doesn't get approval, they will use the sidewalk. He's expecting 100 to 300 participants.
The Confederate battle flag has been at the center of recent controversies arising from the shooting deaths of nine members of the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, last year by Dylann Roof, who had posed with the flag.