> I hope they never catch whomever's responsible for destroying that symbol
> of racism that's displayed on public property.
>
> $1,000 reward offered in Ocala for rebel flag vandal
>
> The Associated Press
> Web-posted: 11:55 p.m. May 10, 2000
>
> OCALA -- A Confederate history group is offering a $1,000 reward for
> information leading to the arrest of the person who set fire to a
> Confederate flag flying in front of the Marion County government
> complex.
>
> The Florida Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans offered
> the reward on Saturday, a day after the Confederate flag flying in
> front of Marion County's McPherson Government Complex was
> burned.
>
> The vandalism came less than two days after a raucous County
> Commission meeting during which two citizens' groups seeking
> removal of the flag were rebuffed.
>
> "We'd like for whoever did this to be caught and punished," said
> Robert Young, commander of the Florida division of the Sons of
> Confederate Veterans, which has about 1,800 members in Florida.
>
> The group is holding its annual convention in Ocala starting May
> 19 and will hold an "anti-hate prayer service" at the county veterans
> park, he said.
>
> Leaders of the two groups demanding removal of the flag --
> Concerned Citizens of Marion County and the Marion County Voters
> League -- denounced the flag-burning and said their groups weren't
> involved.
>
> They contend the flag is offensive to African-Americans.
>
> A replacement Confederate flag was raised at the government
> complex. Assistant County Administrator Ed Smith ordered that all
> five flags be placed on rope pulleys and taken down at the end of
> each day.
>
> Suspects could be charged with criminal mischief, a second-degree
> misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine,
> said Lt. Barry Shrum, a spokesman for the Ocala Police Department.
>
> The flag is part of a display maintained by the Marion County
> Historical Commission that shows the five flags that have flown over
> Florida: the U.S. flag, the British flag, older versions of the French
> and Spanish flags, and the third national flag of the Confederacy.
>
> The five-flags display also flies outside the state Senate building
> in Tallahassee.
>
> The controversial flag has a white background with a vertical red
> stripe down the right edge, and a miniature version of the square
> battle flag of the Confederacy in the upper left corner.
>
> It was adopted by the Confederate Congress on March 4, 1865,
> shortly before the war ended.