Large Confederate flag raised near Charlottesville, Virginia
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A massive Confederate battle flag has been raised just off a major highway outside Charlottesville.
A group called The Virginia Flaggers said it raised the 30-by-50 foot (9-by-15 meter) flag Saturday on private property just off Interstate 64. The flagpole is 120 feet (37 meters) high.
The group calls the flag the "Charlottesville I-64 Spirit of Defiance Memorial Battle Flag." It says the flag is a response to the city of Charlottesville's vote to remove statues of Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The controversy over the statues helped draw protests that culminated in a white nationalist rally in August that turned deadly.
The organization says it has raised more than two dozen Confederate flags since 2013.