Mississippi lawyer Carlos Moore asked for security protection after he received numerous death threats over the lawsuit.
Moore has reported to the FBI and local police after he was bombarded by abhorrence following the filing of the lawsuit, reported by The Guardian. Moore sued Governor Phil Bryant for flying the state flag, an emblem tantamount to hateful government speech against himself and African-American residents of Mississippi's rights.
"God has not given me a spirit of fear but of power. With that being said, I have taken all necessary precautions to protect my family, staff, and myself [including] full time security," he told NCBBLK.
One Facebook user, a resident from Corinth, Mississippi, displayed a handgun as his profile picture, posted, "Ok somebody shot [sic] this P.O.S before he infects us all!"
Another user also posted, "To all the people in Mississippi, Carlos Moore is trying to change your state flag. He is black and think a lot of other things mixed in too... If any of my bro's out that way need my help to keep your flag the way, it is I'm right here. Where is James Earl Ray when you need him."
Amidst the threat, he said he would remain fearless and valiant.
He said, "We are not afraid. We are going forward with this lawsuit. We believe we have right on our side and victory is ahead - this movement cannot be stopped. The mantle has been passed down to us from Dr King, Medgar Evers, Thurgood Marshall. We are going to take that mantle and lead the people of Mississippi to the promised land - that flag will come down after 122 years, I am certain of it."
In such lawsuit, it argued that the flag was racist because the Confederate emblem was added in 1956 to defy school desegregation rulings. U.S. District Judge Orinda D. Evans ruled in January 1996 that she would not make Georgia stop flying its flag because: "There simply is no evidence in the record indicating that the flag itself results in discrimination against African-Americans."
He opined that the state flag with its confederate emblem represents white supremacy, slavery, beatings, rape, lynchings, murders, insurrection, and treason. It is a constant reminder of the oppression African-Americans had to endure in the past and an implicit threat that it could happen again. The current flag contains a Confederate emblem with a racial discriminatory purpose to subjugate African-Americans to second class status and promote the notion of white supremacy. Thus, his constitutional rights have been violated along with all African-American citizens of the state, reports said.
"Removing the flag will change the hearts and minds of many in Mississippi because it will let those stuck in the past know that the state no longer sanctions or ratifies racial bigotry," Moore concluded.
Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Justin Bamberg spoke to more than 200 people at a change-the-flag rally outside the Mississippi Capitol, an event organized by attorneys suing Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant in federal court.
