Obama flag removed from FL Democratic HQ after veterans protest
After flying for several months, the chair of the Lake County, FL, Democratic Party, removed a flag that showed an image of President Obama in the blue field that normally displays the stars representing all 50 states.
The flag was removed after veterans protested the flag Tuesday, calling it a "desecration."
"It's a cult of personality to show his face, like Stalin or Mao," John Masterjohn, a former Marine from Leesburg, told the Orlando Sentinel.
"It's despicable. They don't realize how sick they are."
The protest began after 71-year-old Bay of Pigs veteran Jim Bradford, took pictures of the flag and distributed them to friends and fellow veterans.
Don Van Beck, executive director of the Veterans Memorial at Fountain Park in Leesburg, told WFTV that seeing the flag made his blood boil.
“I can‘t describe how upset was because you just don’t do that to the American flag,” he said.
The veterans, saying the flag violated U.S. code that prohibits “marks, insignia, letters, words, figures, designs, picture or drawings of any nature," demanded it be removed.
Bradford and other veterans approached the Democratic Headquarters with a copy of the flag code, intending to remove the flag.
Van Beck offered a POW/MIA flag to fly in its place, the Sentinel reported, but Party chairwoman Nancy Hulbert threatened to call the police.
"This is private property," she told the veterans. "This is private property. You're not allowed to touch anything. I'll call the police."
The Sentinel added:
The veterans lingered on the property, discussing whether they would take it down or wait for a response. Masterjohn pointed out that they would be trespassing and risking arrest. Another person repeated the old adage, "Two wrongs don't make a right."
The group had decided that they would take further action in a couple of days if nothing was done.
Then, Hurlbert came out and took down the flag, saying she had researched the matter. She didn't take the POW flag offered as a replacement.
"We're proud of our president and we didn't realize it was in violation," Hurlbert said. "I am the chair and I take responsibility for this." Hurlbert also said that prior to this protest, no one had complained about the flag.
“If you’ve been a veteran and fought — and some died for this flag — you don’t want to see it desecrated. That’s how simple it is,” Van Beck said.
Hurlbert, however, told Fox News she believed the issue was not the flag, but the President's image.
"Certain elements cannot accept Barack Obama as president," she added.
According to Fox News, Hurlbert intends to contact an attorney over the matter and did not say if she would fly the flag again.
"I won't say no and I won't say yes," the Party official told Fox. "We want to find out what our legal rights are."
http://www.examiner.com/article/obama-flag-removed-from-fl-democratic-hq-after-veterans-protest?cid=PROD-redesign-right-next
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