WASHINGTON 鈥� A flag-burning demonstration that’s popped up at NASCAR races and at courthouses appears to be headed for Leesburg.
Activist Gene Stilp, a lawyer who lives in both Loudoun County and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, has now received conditional approval to burn a combined Confederate-Nazi flag outside the Loudoun County courthouse on June 12 at noon.
Stilp called the event 鈥渁 very simple, symbolic First Amendment demonstration鈥� and stated in his application that he expected five people to attend.
The event aims to pose a question, Stilp said: 鈥淚s there racism, bigotry, hatred, racial intimidation in Loudoun County in Northern Virginia?鈥� He added: 鈥淭hat鈥檚 not a question for me to answer, that鈥檚 a question for the people to answer.”
Mary Frances Forcier, a Loudoun County government spokesperson, told 草莓传媒 the courthouse grounds are a public forum and rules for its use are meant to provide equal access. She added that officials are working on plans for monitoring the event and responding to any possible outcomes.
Stilp must obtain a waiver from the fire marshal in order to burn the flag in a trash can he provides.
Even if he receives a waiver, Stilp said he鈥檚 been told a final determination will be made by the fire marshal in the moments just before the protest is set to begin. If certain safety conditions are not met or if wind gusts are over 10 miles an hour, the demonstration could be called off.
Kraig Troxell of the Loudoun County Sheriff鈥檚 Office noted that while Stilp鈥檚 previous demonstrations have not led to any problems, authorities are discussing potential security concerns with several groups, including the Leesburg Police Department.
Stilp said in past demonstrations, 鈥淧eople have not been violent 鈥� some folks have been angry, but it鈥檚 been amazing the amount of support we鈥檝e also gotten.鈥�
The activist said he came up with the idea of combining the two flags 鈥� with a Confederate flag on one side and a Nazi flag on the other 鈥� after seeing the symbols together during last year鈥檚 deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville.
鈥淚n this case, a lot of people understand what the Nazi flag means, and a lot of people don鈥檛 think about the Confederate flag, but they both represent similar value systems,鈥� Stilp argued. 鈥淎nd by joining the two, I鈥檓 educating the people and making them think about what the Confederate flag really stands for.鈥�
Stilp said he chose the courthouse in Leesburg as the latest site for his display following some confusion involving the release of information by city police.
Christopher Cantwell, who鈥檚 described as a prominent white nationalist, was arrested in Leesburg in March for public swearing and intoxication. Police have said the incident was listed in a weekly arrest report, but that Cantwell was listed under the wrong last name because of a clerical error.
The mistake led to questions over whether the incident was 鈥渉ushed up鈥� in Stilp鈥檚 words. In an editorial, the Loudoun Times-Mirror said police 鈥溾�� the handling of incident.
