Prince Edward County, Virginia.
On June 1, 2026, a trial was held in the Prince Edward County Circuit
Court on the charge against lifelong Prince Edward County
Resident/Taxpayer Carolyn Bowman for flying a Confederate battle flag
from her property east of Farmville and visible from U.S. Route 460, as
part of a memorial to those who fought and died in the battles of
Sailor’s Creek and High Bridge. The judge found her guilty of violating
the County zoning ordinance that limits the size and number of flags a
person can fly in the County. (Ordinances created by the Board of
Supervisors in emergency sessions AFTER the flag was installed.)
As the law requires, the judge ordered that she bring the property into
compliance by taking down the flag, and if she chose to replace the flag, she must do so only with a flag that meets the NEW zoning ordinance
restrictions. This would require reducing the size of the flag by 80%
(from 600 sq. ft. to 120 sq. ft). (At that reduced size, the flag likely
would not be identifiable from U.S. 460 and would certainly appear
postage-stamp sized flying from the flagpole erected on the property.)
The judge also assessed a $500 civil penalty, but suspended $250 of each
penalty if we removed the offending flag.
On Monday, Ms. Bowman will file an APPEAL of the court’s ruling to the
Virginia Court of Appeals. As part of this appeal, she is posting a
suspending bond that will permit the (full and proper size) flag to keep
flying at least until all state court appeals are concluded.
"The flag is not coming down", says Grayson Jennings, spokesman for The Virginia Flaggers, a patriotic organization that works with landowners to develop Memorial Roadside Battle Flag sites. "This flag was installed properly and legally, and Ms. Bowman is determined to take this case as far as needed to keep this kind of persecution from happening to any other landowner in the Commonwealth. We vow to continue the fight against woke, tyrannical, and overbearing government! "
The County has gone out of its way to avoid mentioning the type of flag
it is fighting so hard to have taken down, but comments of the Board of
Supervisors and others leave no doubt that the real reason the county is
fighting so hard to have the flag removed is because of the message
some people see it to convey: this flag offends some people (i.e., hurts
their feelings), and the County can’t have it.
This is classic viewpoint discrimination, and it violates the First
Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and violates Article
I, § 12 of the Constitution of Virginia. She will continue to vigorously
argue this point in the appellate courts of Virginia.
In the meantime, her civil rights lawsuit filed against the county in
federal court, that is the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia at Richmond, is moving forward. This lawsuit will
most directly address the county’s blatant violation of Ms. Bowman’s
constitutional rights by its actions to amend the zoning ordinance in
direct response to their flag, and in weaponizing that amended zoning
ordinance to attempt to force Ms. Bowman to remove the flag because the
speech it conveys hurts the feelings of some people.
Donations are being accepted to help with mounting legal expenses. This is now the FOURTH year of continued legal battles with Prince Edward County in their attempts to remove this memorial flag.
To assist, please make checks payable to The Virginia Flaggers, note: High Bridge Legal Defense Fund and mail to:
The Virginia Flaggers
PO Box 157
Rice, Va 23966
Or donate online here: https://www.givesendgo.com/
or here: https://www.paypal.com/
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