Lawmaker sets Confederate flag ablaze over red state's redistricting push

A Tennessee state lawmaker set a paper Confederate flag on fire Thursday inside the state's capitol amid protests after the state's Republican lawmakers enacted a new U.S. House map and split the state's only majority-Black congressional seat.

Rep. Justin Jones, a community organizer and Democrat representing the state's 52nd district, used a lighter to set the paper on fire as it burned among a large crowd of cheering demonstrators.

Protests were ongoing Thursday, the third day of a special session in Nashville, where Republican leadership was advancing a new congressional election map after President Donald Trump's demands that the GOP lawmakers redraw the red state’s congressional districts.

The move was part of the president and the Republican Party's strategy to maintain control of a slim majority in the November midterm elections, The Associated Press reported.

The Tennessee state Senate Sergeant at Arms forcibly pulled a banner from the hands of Sen. Charlane Oliver (D) during a debate on redistricting. Demonstrators in the galleries were yelling and using air horns to disrupt the Republican-led House during the vote, while others were escorted out by Tennessee State troopers.