As you may recall, Rockbridge county officials learned of our plans to raise a Confederate Battle Flag Memorial late on the Wednesday afternoon before Lee-Jackson Day in January. By the following morning, they had managed to gather enough information to put together a letter warning against the installation. This was followed up with a site visit by Sam Crickenberger, director of Community Development in Rockbridge County, in which the owner of the business that operates on the property reported that Crickenberger called him an {expletive} “for putting up a rebel flag”.
Curiously, since that confrontation, Rockbridge County officials have gone out of their way to let everyone know that their actions have “absolutely nothing” to do with the fact that a Confederate flag flies on the pole…and Mr. Crickenberger has all but disappeared from the discussion.
After the Lee-Jackson Day flag raising, Rockbridge County immediately followed with a letter with alleged code violations and instructions to remove the pole and flag. Today, Monday March 6th is the day that Rockbridge County had warned that they were going to start fining us if the pole was not removed. We have been prepared for this likelihood and have several supporters lined up to pay whatever fines are incurred. The flag is not coming down.
We maintain our position that the pole and flag do not violate any state or local statutes. The county is insisting that the pole and flag be approved by its “Tourism Corridor Overlay” (TCO) board before a building permit can be obtained. The same building permit, now suddenly required, after we were told it was NOT needed on the 2 previous installations in Rockbridge County, one of which is in the same “Tourism Corridor Overlay” zoning. During those inquiries, no address was ever even requested to check zoning when we were instructed that NO PERMIT WAS REQUIRED, period.
The required paperwork to obtain a “certificate of appropriateness” will be filed this week. Once it is issued, we will file for a building permit as requested. If, for some reason, we are denied a “certificate of appropriateness”, by the TCO board, we will be prepared to take legal action. In any case, the flag is not coming down.
Despite their claims otherwise, this is ABSOLUTELY about trying to prevent a Confederate flag from flying in the town that is the final resting place of Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. It’s about trying to intimidate citizens and bully those of us who dare to speak up and fight back. It’s about attempting to restrict the First Amendment rights of taxpaying citizens. It’s about pandering to the minority, and bowing to the PC false narratives that are being used as an excuse to attempting to erase our history and heritage. CALL TO ACTION: Please take a moment to contact Sam Crickenberger, Director of Community Development and urge him to put an end to his office’s harassment and ask him to work with us to identify and correct any legitimate violations and help expedite the requested TCO certificate and building permit. Email: scrickenberger@rockbridgecountyva.gov Phone: (540) 464-9662 Mail: 150 South Main Street, Lexington, VA 24450
In the meantime, we are looking at additional sites in the area for new flag projects, as the publicity surrounding this one has led several folks to come forward and offer their land. As is typically the case, our support grows each time there is an attempt to stop us and we would like to thank all of those in Lexington, across the Commonwealth, and beyond who have stepped up to help.
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