Hood Will Fight Flag Lawsuit

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Mississippi’s attorney general says he will defend the Confederate-themed state flag against a lawsuit that seeks to remove the banner, even though he thinks the flag hurts the state and should change.

Democrat Jim Hood said Wednesday that his opinion about state laws won’t prevent him from fulfilling his oath to defend them.

Carlos Moore, an attorney from Grenada, Mississippi, filed a federal lawsuit Monday that says the Confederate X on the flag puts him and other African-Americans in danger. He cited the slayings of black worshippers at a church in South Carolina last summer. The white suspect in that case had previously posed for photos with a rebel flag.

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant called the lawsuit “frivolous.” The Republican said voters should decide whether to redesign the state flag.