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STAFFORD, Va. (AP) — Officials in a Virginia county told residents that they cannot force a private property owner to remove a huge Confederate flag that flies on a 90-foot (27-meter) flagpole.
Some two dozen residents attended the Stafford County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday night. They urged officials to either remove the flag, which measures 30 feet by 22 feet (9 meters to 6 meters), or regulate its size.
Stafford County Attorney Charles Shumate said the county has no legal authority to remove the flag from private property. The flag flies over Interstate 95, near Falmouth.
Kim Wyman, a resident who attended the meeting, said the Confederate flag is a symbol of hate.
Confederate symbols have been under increased scrutiny since deadly violence at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville last month.
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