In the wake of Dylann Roof’s attack on parishioners at Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston, the state of South Carolina immediately sought Roof’s execution. The state response also included lowering the Confederate Flag from a memorial outside the State House. Taken together, these two actions suggest a considerable tension between the traditional/customary legitimacy of white supremacy and the rational/legal legitimacy of rational/legal authority. Pool’s talk will suggest that South Carolina’s prosecution of Roof was less about cleansing itself of white supremacy and more about shoring up its sovereignty. Further, Pool will argue that the symbolism of removing the Confederate Flag is an effort to mask the embeddedness of white supremacy in law.