OCALA, Fla. — Ocala's mayor has declared April 26 "Confederate Memorial Day," and he is facing a backlash from city council members.
Mayor Kent Guinn said he issued the proclamation after a request from members of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, WKMG said.
The proclamation said April is the month the Confederacy was formed, and the state made April 26 a legal holiday as "a time in which to honor the memories of those who sacrificed their lives in the War Between the States."
Guinn told WKMG the day would "honor those who died who were Confederate soldiers."
On Tuesday, the city council president was up in arms over the declaration.
“I’m not proud of you doing a Confederacy proclamation," said Mary Sue Rich, according to Ocala.com. "That turns my stomach. And when people say you are a bit of a Ku Klux Klan, I’m beginning to believe it."
Rich also questioned Guinn's fitness to be mayor.
Rumors that Guinn belonged to the KKK began in 2015 after a report linked to the hacker activist group Anonymous. Guinn has denied the allegation.
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