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KKK Rally Image Of Black Officer Helping Heat Stricken White Supremacist Goes Viral

Image Of Black Officer Helping Heat Stricken White Supremacist At KKK Rally Goes Viral
Sara C Nelson
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An image of a black law official helping a white supremacist suffering from heat exhaustion at a KKK rally has gone viral.

Leroy Smith, who is the director of South Carolina’s public safety agency, was photographed aiding the man, who was wearing a Swastika emblazoned t-shirt.

After the image went viral, Smith says he hopes it will be a catalyst for people to work toward overcoming hate and violence.

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Leroy Smith helps the man out of the heat

In a statement he said the image captured "who we are in South Carolina" and represents what law enforcement is all about: helping people "regardless of the person's skin color, nationality or beliefs."

SEE ALSO: Musician Trolls KKK Rally Marchers With Farty Tuba Strains

"I consider myself like every other officer who was out there braving the heat on Saturday to preserve and protect," he said.

The man being aided by Smith was treated by local emergency workers.

The photo shows just the hand of black Columbia Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins, who was also assisting the man.

The North Carolina-based Loyal White Knights of the KKK scheduled a rally to protest the removal of the Confederate battle flag from Statehouse grounds a week earlier. State officials gave the group permission to rally on the opposite side of the building from where the flag flew on a 30-foot pole for the past 15 years.

A Florida group affiliated with the New Black Panther Party was given permission to hold a rally on the side where a monument to Confederate soldiers still stands. The rallies overlapped, and tensions escalated.

SEE ALSO: Ku Klux Klan Confront Black Activists In South Carolina During Confederate Flag Protest

The Department of Public Safety estimated the crowd, including both groups and spectators, at roughly 2,000 people at its peak. Five people were arrested for assault and battery, disorderly conduct or breach of peace.

Officers from six other state and local law enforcement agencies, in addition to the Department of Public Safety, were present for the dueling rallies.

Governor Nikki Haley called for the flag's removal, and the Legislature voted to send it to a museum after nine parishioners of a historic black church in Charleston were slain, including its pastor, Senator Clementa Pinckney.

A 21-year-old old white man seen in photos with the Confederate flag is charged with the slayings.

KKK And Black Activists Clash
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A Ku Klux Klan member shouts racial slurs to African Americans at a Klan demonstration at the state house building on July 18, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
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Ku Klux Klan members stage a demonstration at the state house building on July 18, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
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A Ku Klux Klan member takes part in a Klan demonstration at the state house building on July 18, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
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A Ku Klux Klan member takes part in a Klan demonstration at the state house building on July 18, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
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Ku Klux Klan members depart the state capitol building under police escort following a Klan demonstration on July 18, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
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Protesters shout at a Ku Klux Klan member at a Klan demonstration at the state house building on July 18, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
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A Ku Klux Klan member shouts racial slurs to African Americans at a Klan demonstration at the state house building on July 18, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
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Ku Klux Klan members take part in a Klan demonstration at the state house building on July 18, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
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A Ku Klux Klan flies during a Klan demonstration at the state house building on July 18, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
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Police try to separate protesters and Ku Klux Klan members during a Klan demonstration at the state house building on July 18, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
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Ku Klux Klan members give the Nazi salute during a Klan demonstration at the state house building on July 18, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
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Neo Nazis (National Socialist Movement) take part in a Ku Klux Klan demonstration at the state house building on July 18, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
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Police restrain a protester as Ku Klux Klan members depart the state capitol building after a Klan demonstration on July 18, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
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A Neo Nazi stomps on an Israeli flag after ripping it up at a Ku Klux Klan demonstration at the state house building on July 18, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
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Counter protesters and Ku Klux Klan members argue at a Klan demonstration at the state house building on July 18, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
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Ku Klux Klan members take part in a Klan demonstration at the state house building on July 18, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
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A Neo Nazi (National Socialist Movement) member speaks with a South Carolina state policeman at a Ku Klux Klan demonstration at the state house building on July 18, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
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Ku Klux Klan members take part in a Klan demonstration at the state house building on July 18, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
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Ku Klux Klan supporters depart the state capitol building following a Klan demonstration on July 18, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
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A member of the Ku Klux Klan gives a Nazi salute as the Klan members fly the Confederate flag during a demonstration at the state capitol building on July 18, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
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Protesters try to chase Ku Klux Klan members as they depart the state capitol building after a Klan demonstration on July 18, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
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A Ku Klux Klan supporter carries the Confederate flag during a demonstration at the state capitol building on July 18, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
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A Confederate flag supporter weeps during a Black Educators for Justice rally at the South Carolina state house on July 18, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
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A man holds a Confederate flag during a Black Educators for Justice rally at the South Carolina state house on July 18, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
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People chant 'Black Power' during a Black Educators for Justice rally at the South Carolina state house on July 18, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
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A man holds a black power salute during a Black Educators for Justice rally at the South Carolina state house on July 18, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
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People chant 'Black Power' during a Black Educators for Justice rally at the South Carolina state house on July 18, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
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A man holds a Confederate flag during a Black Educators for Justice rally at the South Carolina state house on July 18, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
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People attend a Black Educators for Justice rally at the South Carolina state house on July 18, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
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A man holds a Confederate flag on the state house grounds on July 18, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. (credit:John Moore via Getty Images)
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