A concerned resident called police after spotting a man walking “very deliberately” down a residential street in Arlington, Virginia, carrying a hybrid Confederate flag over his shoulder.
The flag was a combination of the Confederate battle flag and Gadsden flag, depicting the famous “Don’t tread on me” snake over the blue and red Confederate banner.
Wayne Jaing tweeted a photo he took while driving of the man walking down Lee Highway.
“[He was] not yelling anything, but [you] could tell he was walking with pride in his step,” Mr. Jaing told local news outlet WTOP.
According to police scanner traffic, police determined the man was exercising his First Amendment rights and not violating the law, WTOP reported.
The latest 911 call over a Confederate flag display comes two weeks after a similar incident in Connecticut.
A shopper at Redwood County Flea Market in Wallingford, Connecticut, called 911 to report Confederate merchandise that had offended him.
“There was a table set up with this material,” Police Chief William Wright said, the American Mirror reported. “It’s not criminally illegal, but obviously it offended this person. It causes some people a sense of being uncomfortable. Certainly the owner could preclude this merchandise.”
The caller complained that the Confederate items were “not authentic” and were replicas of flags and weapons.
No one was arrested because the items were being sold on private property, Chief Wright said.
• Kellan Howell can be reached at khowell@washingtontimes.com.
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