DANVILLE, Va. (AP) - Virginia has revoked specialty license plates featuring a Confederate battle flag after a federal judge dissolved an injunction allowing the image.
Attorney General Mark Herring's office said Thursday evening that the Department of Motor Vehicles will begin replacing about 1,600 existing plates.
U.S. District Judge Jackson L. Kiser says in a Thursday order that his 2001 injunction is no longer valid.
The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled in a Texas case that specialty license plates represent the state's speech, and not the driver's speech.
Virginia's plates honor the Sons of Confederate Veterans.
Department of Motor Vehicles spokeswoman Brandi Brubaker tells The Virginian-Pilot that the agency will work with the organization to design new plates without the flag. Once the plates are manufactured, they'll be sent to affected motorists.
Flag Comes Down in Danville
DANVILLE, Va. (AP) - A Danville police officer has removed a Confederate flag from a historic mansion's flagpole after City Council members voted to limit the flying of flags on city-owned property.
Multiple media outlets report that the Council voted 7-2 on Thursday night to allow only the U.S., Virginia, city of Danville and the POW/MIA flag to fly from city-maintained flagpoles.
Because the city owns the Sutherlin Mansion, the Third National Confederate flag was promptly removed from the flagpole. The mansion briefly served as the final capitol of the Confederacy.
Prior to the vote, Attorney General Mark Herring sent city officials an official opinion on the issue, saying the flag could come down because the granite base the flagpole sits on recognizes the "historical significance" of the building - not a particular war or veterans.
