Residents in a Southern California neighborhood say their homeowners association is threatening to fine them unless they remove American flags displayed outside their homes, sparking outrage as the nation approaches its 250th anniversary.
Terri Collins and neighbors Amy and Chris Cooke, who live in San Marcos in San Diego County, said their HOA warned they could face a $100 fine if they continued flying American flags outside of their homes.
“I’m not taking my flag down,” Terri said. “They can fine me, $100, $200, $1,000, I’m not paying it.”
Terri said she has flown the Stars and Stripes for 35 years and described the neighborhood as very patriotic because it is near the former Miramar Navy Air Station, the original home of the Navy’s TOPGUN school, adding, “all the Top Gun pilots lived here.”
The homeowners said the Ambiance Owners’ Association has enforced these rules ever since President Donald Trump’s 2024 election. According to the neighbors, several residents crumbled under pressure to take down their flags after receiving warning letters from the HOA.
“Once the members allow use of a common property by an owner to express what is essentially a political or affiliative view in a flag, other owners will want to do the same and the common area will degrade,” a letter from the HOA board stated before the 2024 election.
The HOA told homeowners they could display flags only in “exclusive use” areas, such as backyards, while front-facing common areas were off limits. The Cookes said their $100 fine stemmed from the size and placement of their flag.
Congress passed the Freedom to Display the American Flag Act in 2005, which generally prevents HOAs from banning residents from displaying the American flag while allowing restrictions on how it is displayed, including the size, placement, and type of flagpole.
Michael Kushner, an HOA attorney from Aliso Viejo, said “the law is crystal clear,” adding that the HOA is “barking up the wrong tree.”
“I would tell these people to stand firm and under no circumstances should they remove that flag,” he said. HOAs “count on the fact that homeowners don’t know better and might be scared.”
“We are outraged, if you want to fly your flag fly it, this is America,” Amy Cooke, a 62-year-old visitation supervisor for children, told the California Post. “We are the land of the free and home of the brave, this is crazy.”
The Cookes said they have flown their flag for more than 20 years to honor Chris’ grandfather, Alexander Christie, a Navy sailor who was killed aboard the USS Princeton during World War II while attempting to rescue fellow sailors in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Christie received the Purple Heart and the Navy Cross.
The Cookes secured a 15-minute Zoom call with the HOA board on Tuesday. If the board doesn’t back down, they said they plan to take legal action.
“We’ve never sued anyone in our life. We’re just here to fly our flag and be left alone,” Chris said. “There’s enough division, we shouldn’t have to do this, but we don’t want to be pushed into submission.”
California Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton also responded to the HOA’s stance.
“I hope everyone in that neighborhood not only ignores their HOA but doubles and trebles the number of American flags they display on this very special anniversary for our nation,” he said.
The Cookes and Terri are still planning to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, despite the dispute.
“There’s a significant difference between some random flag for whatever you support and the American flag, the symbol of our country,” Amy said. “It’s not just a flag. It’s a symbol.”
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