Fearing protests, North Carolina town cancels Christmas parade featuring Confederate group

A town in North Carolina has canceled its Christmas parade over fears of protests due to the planned inclusion of a group bearing the Confederate flag.

Wake Forest officials said last week the parade would include the Sons & Daughters of the Confederacy as it had for more than two decades.

However, when police say they learned planned protests grew from from less than 10 people to over 200, town officials voted Wednesday to cancel the Dec. 14 parade due to the "potential for violence."

The town said in a news release that demonstrators from outside Wake Forest who both supported and opposed the groups' planned participation in the parade.

The town said it had received "credible information in recent days" that informed them of the protest plans. It was not immediately clear who or what groups planned to protest.

Mayor Vivian Jones said she was "angry, disappointed and heartbroken" that the parade was canceled and vowed to begin planning next year's parade. In a teary video statement, she said that while she does not like the decision, the risk of hosting the parade outweighed the reward.

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Jones said the Christmas parade has been a cherished tradition in the community for more than 70 years.

In its statement last week, the town described how the Sons & Daughters of the Confederacy typically participates with "period costumes and a banner that includes an image of the Confederate flag."

The town said it was sensitive to reactions that many feel when seeing the flag but that it had been advised in 2018 that it did not have a legal basis to exclude the group from the parade.

Last week, nearby Garner, North Carolina, also announced that it would cancel its annual Christmas parade due to fears of protests sparked by the participation of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Wake Forest officials said.

USA TODAY could not immediately reach the Sons of Confederate Veterans or Daughters of the Confederacy for comment.

Follow USA TODAY's Ryan Miller on Twitter @RyanW_Miller