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Video credit: FOX & Friends
Many Americans are known to be fiercely patriotic and even when it’s not the 4th of July, they proudly proclaim their patriotism. And one of the simplest yet clearest ways of declaring one’s patriotism is through the American flag. This is why you see the flag proudly displayed in many establishments and homes.
However, a veteran named Larry Murphree from Sweetwater, Florida, ran afoul of the homeowner’s association precisely because he displayed the American flag on his property.
He said that “one day I was thinking about the country, and I put a small American flag on my front porch in a flower pot,” a small gesture that held a lot of meaning for him. “It is a small flag, but it stands for a big thank you,” he added.
However, the Home Owner Association at the Tides Condominium, Sweetwater, thought otherwise and served Murphree a notice to take the flag away. According to the letter, the American flag was considered an unauthorized object and should be removed.
But Murphree, who served in the US Air Force for six years as an air traffic controller during the Vietnam War, decided to ignore the letter and was fined $100 every day. Once he had already paid $1,000, he decided to get the services of a lawyer.
Gust Sarris, the lawyer, said, “We believe we have the right to display the American flag, we filed suit in the federal court.”
An agreement was finally reached where Murphree was allowed to keep the flag in the flower pot. But only a few months later, the Association changed their flag ordinance to a flower pot ordinance, meaning Murphree had to fly the flag on a flag pole and not in a flower pot.
Gust said, “Somehow they re-categorized it and started doing the same thing again which was the same flag, the same flower pot, the same dirt, and the same plant.”
The legal tussle had been going on for seven years and the Association practically started harassing Murphree with all sorts of violations, such as citing him for not taking down a snowflake window decoration after Christmas, or not parking straight enough, and erecting a solar light at Christmas.
The veteran had also been unaware that the Association had been using his HOA fees to pay off the fines he had incurred. This led them to fine Murphree for not paying his mandatory dues.
He was finally forced to put his home up for sale so that it would not be foreclosed.
The veteran said, “I sold my place at a tremendous loss and got out of here,” and even if he’s not living there anymore, he added that “Somebody had to stand up and say, ‘this is not right.’”
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