The Trump flag can continue to fly in Danville, Kentucky.
The City of Danville received complaints about a Donald Trump flag that was seen flying from a crane at the construction site of the new Danville water treatment plant. City Manager Ron Scott said the flag was brought to his attention several weeks ago, but that there was nothing wrong with the crane owner flying the flag. “That expression is no different than a city employee or a newspaper employee or a university employee having a bumper sticker on their car,” said Scott, “It’s a protected right.”
Scott did bring the issue to the city attorney, but the attorney also found nothing wrong. According to Scott, “That right of the construction owner, operator, to express his opinion was covered by the First Amendment. Nothing in our contract precluded that action. If it were even in our contract, it would probably be considered prior restraint and not constitutional.”
Scott said that only a few people had brought the issue of the flag to him, but he felt the need to clarify that it was not a symbol of the city’s stance on the election. “The City of Danville, as a non-partisan government, doesn’t endorse either party in national, state or local races,” Scott said. “I did look into it. It’s erroneous to conclude that it’s flying there … represents anyone’s opinion other than the city worker. I would think the people in this community would appreciate the protection provided by the First Amendment of our U.S. Constitution,” he said. “It will cause people to, hopefully, reflect what the First Amendment means. Our right to express shall not be infringed by the government.”
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