NEWS

SCV asks DOJ to step in on Hervey death investigation

Therese Apel
Clarion Ledger
In this May 8, 2000, file photograph, Anthony Hervey holds a Confederate flag while standing underneath the Confederate monument in Oxford, Miss. The Highway Patrol says 49-year-old Hervey was killed Sunday, July 19, 2015, when his 2005 Ford Explorer left the roadway and overturned on Mississippi Highway 6 in Lafayette County. Hervey, of Oxford, has drawn attention over the years for opposing efforts to change the flag. He said he dressed in Rebel soldier garb to honor blacks who served with the Confederacy during the Civil War.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans are asking the Department of Justice to look into the car accident that led to the death of Anthony Hervey, an outspoken African-American defender of the Confederate flag on Sunday night.

Hervey, 49, author of "Why I Wave the Confederate Flag: Written by a Black Man," was killed when the Ford Explorer he was driving outside of Oxford ran off the road.

Arlene Barnum told authorities that she and Hervey were returning from a Confederate Flag rally in Alabama when a silver car with several black males chased their Explorer and forced it off the road, causing it to flip several times.

In a Wednesday release, SCV Commander in Chief Kelly Barrow called on Attorney General Loretta Lynch to direct the DOJ's Civil Rights Division to investigate the suspicious accident.

"We are deeply saddened by the death of a friend, and we ask that the Justice Department immediately join in this investigation," Barrow said. "Mr. Hervey was likely killed because of his color and his beliefs."

Hervey often sat at the Confederate memorial on the Oxford Square, sometimes wearing a Confederate uniform and waving a battle flag. He addressed crowds all over the country, and even in Europe. Former Ole Miss student Jessica Hanchey remembers seeing him on Speaker's Corner in London.

"I noticed one guy in a full blue tracksuit with 'Ole Miss' embroidered on it. Sure enough, there was Anthony Hervey, up on a ladder, with a Confederate Flag tied to the front of it," she said. "I shouted 'Hotty Toddy' up at him, and he responded with the same."

Mississippi Highway Patrol is conducting a full probe into the wreck. Accident reconstructionists have been trying to piece together evidence to determine exactly what happened and if there was a second car involved.

MHP Spokesman Johnny Poulos said Wednesday that officials hope to be able to release results of the investigation soon.

Barrow also charged the NAACP, President Barack Obama and other political leaders to condemn the destruction of Confederate symbols.

"Their support of this cultural cleansing has created a very divisive atmosphere in the South and by their silence they have created the impression that they support these hostile and destructive actions. This is not the road to brotherhood and understanding."

Contact Therese Apel at tapel@gannett.com. Follow @TRex21 on Twitter.