A while later, the North Carolina-based Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan held a rally on the opposite side of the building to protest against the flag’s removal.
There was a heavy police presence and no major violence was reported, although a few fights did break out.
The South Carolina Department of Public Safety estimated the crowd at approximately 2,000.
Spokeswoman Sherri Iacobelli said five people were arrested and 23 people needed medical attention.
Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin had earlier urged people to shun both rallies.
He tweeted: “Lets use the #IgnoreThem hashtag and share how you’re going to ignore these groups gathering at the State House on Saturday.”
The Confederate flag was removed from South Carolina’s statehouse grounds a week ago after last month’s massacre of nine black church-goers by an alleged white supremacist who had embraced the rebel banner.