State Sen. Glenn McConnell has told his colleagues he is concerned about his “health and safety,” and the order and solemnity of the Hunley funeral procession today.

Several senators said Friday that McConnell, R-Charleston, has said he received threats from people wanting to harm him personally or disrupt the procession. He told them he has been advised to wear a bulletproof vest at times. This week, he has been accompanied by plainclothes security.

The key issue is McConnell’s insistence on flying the American flag in the procession, a move that has prompted angry Internet petitions and correspondence.

Rep. Dan Cooper, R-Anderson, a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, favors flying the American flag today. But he said not everyone does.

“The argument is, they fought against the Union, so it’s like carrying your enemies’ flag with you,” Cooper said.

State Sen. Bill Branton asked his colleagues to pray for McConnell, who is leading today’s Hunley funeral procession.

“You and I know Sen. McConnell is not a man who’s afraid of anything,” Branton said during Thursday’s legislative session. “But I do know that he has a concern, and I hope that you would, in your prayers, remember him.”

McConnell was leading Hunley festivities Friday, and efforts to reach him for comment were unsuccessful.

Security this weekend will be tight at the procession, as the State Law Enforcement Division, the Department of Public Safety and local law enforcement units patrol the four-mile route.

“SLED does have a presence here in Charleston,” Chief Robert Stewart said Friday. “I’m here myself. This is a major event in the state, and SLED is at most major events.”

Stewart would not talk specifics, either about security or the existence of any threats. But he did say he had an “appropriate number” of agents and a security plan well in place.

— Valerie Bauerlein