Nikki Haley says South Carolinians saw the Confederate flag as representing 'service' and 'sacrifice' until racist shooter Dylann Roof 'hijacked' it

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In an interview with Blaze TV's Glenn Beck, former US Ambassador to the UN and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said white supremacist gunman Dylann Roof "hijacked" the meaning of the Confederate flag.

On June 17, 2015 Roof opened fire in a Wednesday night Bible study at the Emanuel African Methodist Church in Charleston, South Carolina, killing nine people and injuring three others.

Haley said that Roof, who published a racist manifesto invoking the Confederate flag, "hijacked everything that people thought of" about the flag's meaning, saying, "people saw it as service, and sacrifice, and heritage."

Since the 19th century, the confederate flag has represented the confederacy's fight in the United States' Civil War to preserve the institution of slavery of African-Americans.

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In an interview with Blaze TV's Glenn Beck, former US Ambassador to the UN and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said white supremacist gunman Dylann Roof "hijacked" the meaning of the Confederate flag and made it about hate rather than heritage and sacrifice.

On June 17, 2015 Roof opened fire during a Wednesday night Bible study at the Emanuel African Methodist Church in Charleston, South Carolina, killing nine people and injuring three others. Authorities found that Roof also wrote a white supremacist manifesto heavily invoking the Confederate flag and other Confederate symbols. See the rest of the story at Business InsiderNOW WATCH: Extremists turned a frog meme into a hate symbol, but Hong Kong protesters revived it as an emblem of hopeSee Also:POWER RANKING: Here's who has the best chance of becoming the 2020 Democratic presidential nomineeNurses reveal the meaning of code words they use that patients don't understandA step-by-step guide to get richer, healthier, and happier in 31 daysSEE ALSO: Nikki Haley claims John Kelly and Rex Tillerson asked her to defy Trump in order to 'save the country' from the inside

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