N.Y. Town Reverses Ban on Trump Flag After Public Outcry, DOJ Involvement
Local leaders in Croton-on-Hudson, a small town in Westchester County, have dropped a zoning case against a resident who has long displayed a “Trump Is My President” flag. The reversal came after weeks of mounting criticism, warnings of possible federal action, and concerns about safety following threats directed at village staff.
The controversy quickly drew nationwide attention, amplified by Newsmax and local media outlets, turning what began as a zoning matter into a broader debate over free expression and the scope of local authority.
On Tuesday evening, officials confirmed they were withdrawing both the violation notice and the court summons issued over the flag, which had been cited under the village’s rules against certain banners. The village attorney explained that enforcement would remain on hold until the zoning code itself could be reassessed.
In a statement issued Tuesday afternoon, the village explained that the enforcement was “part of routine, village-wide code enforcement that identified 17 non-compliant locations,” and stressed that “voluntary compliance” had resolved nearly all of the other cases. Officials insisted there was no political motive, declaring: “Village staff have been falsely accused of engaging in a politically motivated enforcement action… categorically false.”
Senior administrators acknowledged that what began as a local zoning matter had “become a national spectacle” and had triggered “abusive messages and threats of violence” directed toward village employees. Those threats are now being investigated by authorities.
The issue escalated further when the U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter reminding the village that it had the power to pursue civil enforcement if constitutional rights were at stake, and urged officials to “review its ordinance and enforcement practices promptly” to ensure they complied with federal law.
After considering the situation, local leaders concluded they could not manage both the harassment of staff and the possibility of federal involvement. They stated: “Our village government is not in a position to contend with continuous anonymous abuse… and a federal intervention regarding a minor civil citation.”
The dispute centered around Leonard “Lenny” Amicola, a disabled Vietnam veteran who has lived in the village for nearly seven decades. Amicola, who began flying pro-Trump banners in 2021, said the current flag, strung between two trees, had not only drawn neighbors’ support but also prompted hostility, including “rocks being thrown at the flag” and personal threats.
Mayor Brian Pugh maintained that the action had nothing to do with politics, describing it as “a straightforward code enforcement matter, not a free speech issue.” He explained that the village discourages banners unless they are on flagpoles.
Amicola and his attorney, Roseann Schuyler, rejected the mayor’s explanation and said they were prepared to challenge the case in federal court if necessary.
Newsmax played a central role in pushing the story to a national audience, highlighting Schuyler’s position that the village wrongly classified Amicola’s display as though it were a commercial advertisement. She told the outlet: “Mr. Amicola is not advertising anything. He’s making a political statement on his own private property.” She further argued that the village was trying “to shoehorn their enforcement action” into an ordinance that did not apply to her client’s flag.
Schuyler added: “I think that if Lenny had a Joe Biden flag or a Black Lives Matter flag, or a pride flag, that he would be allowed to fly his flag and would not be harassed by the village administration at all.”
{Matzav.com}
