Michigan Senator Apologizes for Mask That Looked Like Confederate Flag

A Republican state senator in Michigan apologized for wearing a homemade mask that resembled the Confederate battle flag on the Senate floor on Friday.

“I’m sorry for my choice of pattern on the face mask I wore yesterday,” the senator, Dale Zorn, said in a statement released on Saturday, adding that he did not intend to offend anyone.

“However, I realize that I did, and for that I am sorry,” he said. “My actions were an error in judgment for which there are no excuses and I will learn from this episode.”

The senator said he told his wife, who made the mask, that it “probably will raise some eyebrows,” but he initially told WLNS-TV on Friday that it was not a Confederate flag.

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Embracing the Confederate battle flag can signal support for white supremacy or states’ rights, Jenna Bednar, a political-science professor at the University of Michigan, said on Sunday.

“I have no idea what it means to him,” she said, referring to the senator.