The Petaluma Veteran’s Day parade took place on Friday in California and the appearance of Confederate flags along the parade route sparked major outrage. San Rafael Rep. Jared Huffman was one of many people disturbed by the controversial flags. He told reporters, “It was just so out of place that I had to do a double-take.” Huffman appeared in the parade riding an old WWII-era Jeep with Petaluma resident Steve Countouriotis, a decorated war hero.

Three young men were standing on the sidewalk, each carrying a variation of the Confederate flag. As he rode past the young men in his jeep, Huffman got the attention of the young men and waved a miniature American flag at them, saying “This is our flag.” Huffman, who was elected Tuesday to his third term representing California’s northern coast, told reporters, “I’ve been doing this parade now for a dozen years. I have never seen anything like that. No one I know has ever seen anything like that. It’s no coincidence that this kind of thing is presenting itself after Donald Trump’s victory.”

Soonafter, the representative took a photo of the men holding the flag and posted it on Twitter, saying, “More ugliness is coming. Wonder if they know what those flags really stood for?” Parade organizer Steve Kemmerle said that organizers and law enforcement have no control over the signs or messages bystanders carry in the park. But if the men had stepped into the parade, police would have shooed them out.

Source: Washington Post |PHOTOCREDIT: Twitter 

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