Legislators ask why agency gave 2 hate groups OK to rally

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina legislators are asking why state officials allowed two opposing hate groups to hold overlapping rallies at the Statehouse.

A legislative panel that oversees Statehouse grounds will question a Department of Administration official Tuesday about the July 18 rallies. The agency permitted the Ku Klux Klan and a group affiliated with the New Black Panther Party to rally on opposite sides of the Statehouse.

Five people were arrested. Law enforcement ended the white supremacists' rally an hour early for safety reasons.

Agency spokesman Brian Gaines says requests to hold an event on Statehouse grounds are approved on a first-come, first-served basis.