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American Fork has condemned a display of the Confederate flag in an unsanctioned local parade float.
City officials said the flag flying from behind a decorated golf cart Saturday was a troubling display of hate.
The group slipped in before the official parade and walked in front of the line for a time but broke off before the end of the route, said city spokeswoman Audra Sorensen on Monday. It doesn't appear that they applied to be in the city's annual Steel Days parade, and it isn't clear who they are, she said.
"We understand there are many opinions about these topics. However, because many individuals see the words and flag as symbols of hate and intolerance, we cannot sit quietly," the city's statement said. "We as a city do not support this or any such symbols that can be interpreted as hateful or threatening."
American Fork issued the condemnation after former Utah Jazz player Thurl Bailey tweeted critically about the float. Bailey couldn't immediately be reached for comment on Monday.
The float group also included a handful of people walking alongside, at least some wearing Western gear and carrying guns, though it was unclear if they were real, Sorensen said.
A group that appears to have been the same one also tried to join the American Fork parade unapproved last year, but authorities intervened and asked them to leave the line, she said. It doesn't appear they've done anything that would warrant a police investigation.
"It's just more of a lesson of respect and good taste. It's a lesson that we're learning national in every city in every walk of life," she said.
Sorensen said the city plans on using a lead car and watching the route more closely to prevent uninvited entries from joining the parade line again.
If the group had applied to be part of the parade, she said the city would have had to weigh free speech issues.
They're not the only Utah city to deal with a Confederate flag display at a parade.
Eagle Mountain is considering policy changes after a group of longtime participants carried the flag for the first time without giving notice to organizers, according to a city statement.
Last summer, leaders in Herriman apologized after a different group flew the flag. That group was approved, but parade organizers were unaware the Confederate flag would be part of the display.
While some say flying the flag of the South during the Civil War commemorates history, many others say it's a racist vestige of slavery.
Confederate images have come under fresh scrutiny around the country since last year's massacre of nine black worshippers at a church in Charleston, S.C. Race is also a large part of the current, charged national discussion about police use of force.