FREDERICKSBURG, Va. (AP) - A Virginia resident has received a permit to erect a large Black Lives Matter flag in her backyard after a county attorney announced that officials could not remove or lower a Confederate flag that flies over Interstate 95.
News outlets report Susan Kosior applied for a Stafford County building permit to raise an 80-foot (24-meter) flag pole and place a 30-by-50-foot (9-15 meter) Black Lives Matter flag in her backyard on Sept. 20.
On Sept. 19, the board of supervisors asked county attorney Charles Shumate about the legality of the Confederate flag. Shumate said the First Amendment protects the flag and any action against it could result in a lawsuit.
Kosior, who is white, says the Confederate flag sends a poor message for the county.
