Bryant Asks Federal Court To Let Flag Lawsuit Die

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Attorneys for Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant are asking a federal appeals court not to revive a lawsuit that sought to erase the Confederate battle emblem from the state flag.

State attorneys filed arguments Monday with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

A federal district judge in September dismissed a lawsuit by Carlos Moore, rejecting his argument that the emblem is an unconstitutional vestige of slavery.

Moore on Nov. 1 asked the appeals court to order the judge to hold a trial on his other arguments. Moore says the flag symbolizes a government embrace of white supremacy and the status of him and other African-Americans as “second-class citizens.”

The Mississippi flag, used since 1894, is the only remaining state banner with the Confederate battle emblem.