Confederate Flag Wavers Greet President Obama in Oklahoma

The president will visit a federal prison in Oklahoma today.

ByABC News
July 16, 2015, 7:42 AM
People wave Confederate flags outside the hotel that President Barack Obama is staying the night, July 15, 2015, in Oklahoma City.
People wave Confederate flags outside the hotel that President Barack Obama is staying the night, July 15, 2015, in Oklahoma City.
Evan Vucci/AP Photo

— -- President Obama was greeted by people waving Confederate flags as he arrived at his hotel in Oklahoma City Wednesday night.

In a crowd of several dozen people, about 10 of them waved Confederate flags as the president's motorcade arrived at his hotel. One person also waved a U.S. flag.

There were also some fans of the president standing in the crowd, including one person holding a sign expressing love for Obama.

The White House did not immediately respond to questions about whether the president saw the Confederate flag.

The incident comes one week after the Confederate flag was removed from the grounds of the South Carolina Capitol in Columbia when Gov. Nikki Haley signed legislation to remove the controversial banner. The campaign for the flag's removal stemmed from the apparent racially motivated slaying of nine African-Americans inside a historic Charleston church.

The president is on a two-day trip to Oklahoma where today he will visit the El Reno Federal Correctional Institution. This will be the first time a sitting president goes inside a federal prison and is part of Obama's push to overhaul the criminal justice system.

The president Wednesday spoke in Durant, Oklahoma, where he talked about expanding broadband access to low-income communities.