KKK, African-American group rally at South Carolina Capitol

A Ku Klux Klan chapter and an African-American group held overlapping demonstrations outside the South Carolina State House, where state officials removed the Confederate battle flag last week.

Members of white supremacists groups rally on the steps of the South Carolina Statehouse during New Black Panther Party and the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan rallies on the grounds of the South Carolina Capitol in Columbia, South Carolina (AAP) Source: AAP

Dozens of Klu Klux Klan members gathered in front of the South Carolina State House holding Confederate flags Saturday just as a counter-rally featuring African flags on the other side of the Capitol wrapped up.

Ku Klux Klam members marched to the South Carolina State House carrying confederate flags.

About 50 members of the Loyal White Knights of the Klu Klux Klan, based in North Carolina, protested the removal of the Confederate flag from the State House last week.

Hundreds of people opposing the Klan also gathered, and people started yelling at each other.

Within about an hour, everyone was ushered away from the Capitol by dozens of law enforcement officers, many outfitted in bullet-proof vests, helmets and camouflage.

Two men who were involved in a scuffle were led away by police.

On the opposite side of the building, a Jacksonville, Florida, group called Black Educators for Justice also held its rally. The group is run by James Evans Muhammad, a former director of the New Black Panther Party.

The Black Educators group wants to highlight continuing racial inequality, which Muhammad says endures despite the Confederate flag's removal.