The State from Columbia, South Carolina • A3

TUESDAY JULY 9 2019 3ALocalTHESTATE.COM FACEBOOK.COM/THESTATENEWS TWITTER.COM/THESTATE COLUMBIA, SC A Lowcountry man who brought together fellow motorcyclists in the group Bikers for Trump says found a new way to sup- port the president. Chris Cox of Mount Pleasant announced on Facebook that he will be running for Congress in 2020 against Charleston Democrat Joe Cunningham. be more proud of the friends and patriots I served beside in our successful 2016 effort to elect and, now, our 2020 effort to re-elect President Donald Cox said in a post an- nouncing he was turning the biker group over to a top lieutenant. in my effort to continue to support President Trump and our great country, I am stepping things Cox started Bikers for Trump in 2015 as an unofficial security detail for the then-presidential often combus- tible rallies, forming a of between Trump and the protesters who often showed up at his 2016 campaign events, according to an interview Cox gave The Washington Times. Before that, Cox was most famous for mowing the lawn around the Lincoln Memorial during the 2013 government shutdown, carrying a South Carolina flag as he performed chores for furloughed government workers during the shut- down.

In his Facebook post, Cox said he was appointed in the election of a liberal Democrat to represent me and my neighbors in Cunningham defeated former GOP state Rep. Katie Arrington in 2018 to win the seat formerly held by Mark Sanford. He told The Washington Times his biker brand and alliance with Trump will give him an advantage in a crowded Republican pri- mary, although he might alter his denim-jacket and t-shirt look for the race. may have a collar on, but not going to rein- vent he said. Cox is only the latest entrant into the race.

Two weeks ago, state Rep. Nancy Mace of Daniel Island announced she would seek to unseat Cunningham after a single term. Others who have an- nounced plans to chal- lenge Cunningham are financial planner and Mount Pleasant Town Councilwoman Kathy Landing, Beaufort County Councilman Mike Covert of Bluffton and Logan Cunningham, a Hilton Head Island school teach- er who lives in Bluffton. Bristow Marchant: 803-771-8405, Bikers for Trump founder says seek seat in Congress BY BRISTOWMARCHANT MANUEL BALCE CENETA AP Chris Cox rakes leaves near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., during the 2013 government shutdown. Cox said he will seek Joe congressional seat.

COLUMBIA SC A coalition of neigh- borhoods around Five Points and the Five Points Association of merchants announced Monday they are joining together to the urban village near the University of South Carolina. The two groups plan to meet quarterly to discuss issues such as parking, enforcement of liquor laws, attracting more restaurants and retail stores, improving safety and making streets more pedestrian friendly, neigh- borhood leaders, mer- chants and others said at a press conference at the Five Points The two groups will also invite the leadership of the city of Columbia and the University of South Car- olina to join in their dis- cussions, they said. want this to return to the village I moved to 40 years said state Sen. Dick Harpootlian, an attorney who has repre- sented neighborhood residents challenging the liquor licenses of late- night bars that cater main- ly to USC students the source of the decline, he said. Harpootlian, a Demo- crat who lives in nearby Wales Garden, said that 85 percent of the students who drink in the late night bars are under-aged and cause havoc in nearby neighborhoods after closing time.

Sen. Harpootlian, merchants, others launch efforts to clean up Five Points BY JEFFWILKINSON JEFF WILKINSON Sen. Dick Harpootlian, the Five Points Association and the Coalition of Five Points Neighborhoods have announced they will fight college bars in Five Points. SEE FIVE POINTS, 5A COLUMBIA, SC On the anniversary of the Confederate removal from the grounds of the S.C. State House, organizers are planning to rally with the flag outside the State House, right before the grounds are turned over to a racial justice group.

Ryan Barnett reserved the State House grounds from 6 to 8 a.m. Wednes- day for a flag according to his permit application to the S.C. Department of Administration. The permit ex- pires only an hour before the Columbia chapter of Showing Up for Racial Justice is scheduled to hold its own celebration of the removal from the State House grounds four years ago. Group founder Sarah Keeling had reserved the grounds for the day specifically to block the State House grounds from being used for a flag rally as it has in years past.

A separate group will hold its own Confederate flag event at the State House on Saturday. But Barnett said he wanted flag supporters to have a chance to mark the anni- versary at the state capitol. realize you stop anybody from just showing Barnett said. confident there will be flags all around He was unsure Monday how many people would show up for the event, but invited supporters to show up with their own rebel flags beside the Confeder- ate soldiers monument at Gervais and Main streets. That same day, Showing Up for Racial Justice will GERRY MELENDEZ The South Carolina Secessionist Party marked the one-year anniversary of the Confederate flag coming down from the State House by raising the banner again on a temporary pole on July 10, 2016.

Confederate flag rally planned for day of racial justice event BY BRISTOWMARCHANT SEE FLAG RALLY, 5A Over 1,000 people cheered on presidential candidate Kamala Harris in Myrtle Beach on Mon- day as she cited President Donald Trump as a preda- tor and declared she will be the next Commander-in-Chief. The California Senator received rapturous ap- plause from the standing- room-only crowd at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center Monday afternoon as she shared her vision for a nation that protects the environment, enhanc- es healthcare, ensures equal pay for women, enacts comprehensive gun reform and immigration control, eliminates deten- tion centers and trusts its national security over foreign leaders. need a new Com- Harris said. fully intend to win this Harris, who touted her career as a prosecutor, took aim at Trump out- lining his alleged tory instincts and preda- tory of preying on the vulnerable and those he perceives to be weak. She said Trump has be- trayed the American peo- ple by not fulfilling the promises he made during his presidential campaign, and passing legislation that benefits the rich, amplifies his ego and support the work- ing class.

are a nation of hard-working people. We need a president that has some concern and some interest in the lives of people other than him- Harris said. time to turn the page and write the new chapter of our Harris added that up to the American people to stand against four more years of Trump. The democratic candi- date made her ninth trip to South Carolina as her campaign garners steam following her recent show- ing during the first presi- dential debate last week. Harris is currently part of a crowded field of Demo- crats vying for the presi- dential nomination that also includes Vice Presi- dent Joe Biden and fellow U.S.

senators Cory Booker, of New Jersey, Kirsten Gillibrand, of New York, Elizabeth Warren, of Mas- sachusetts, and Bernie Sanders, of Vermont. If elected in 2020, Har- ris promised to support a Green New Deal and re- enter the United States into the Paris Agreement on her first day in office. She will also give Con- gress the first 100 days of her inauguration to devise a comprehensive bill on gun safety for her to sign into law. If Congress comply, Harris said enact executive action that requires uni- versal background checks, bans the importation of BY ANNA YOUNG fully intend to Harris tells crowd in Myrtle Beach Kamala Harris, democratic presidential candidate, visits the Myrtle Beach Convention Center on Monday. SEE HARRIS, 5A.