Sheriff Says He Was Shocked When Group of Judges Told Him They Wanted This Display Out of Courthouse

Hanging on the wall inside a Portsmouth, Virginia, courthouse is an American flag display made out of old fire hoses. The flag contains a sign below it that reads, “A Tribute to Public Safety.”

(Source: WTKR)

So it’s not surprising that Portsmouth Sheriff Bill Watson says he was shocked when a group of judges apparently told him they not only wanted him to take the flag off the wall in the lobby, they wanted it removed from the courthouse entirely.

“I just can’t believe that they don’t want to display the American flag in a courthouse, I mean that’s the most asinine thing I’ve ever heard in my life,” the sheriff told WTKR-TV.

He continued:

“They expect my deputies to put their life on the line for a judge. If somebody was going to come into a courtroom with a gun, the deputy is supposed to stand in front of the judge and take a bullet, but yet they won’t let us have our flag, saluting public safety? To me, that’s a slap in the face.”

One of the judges apparently spoke anonymously to WTKR-TV and said it was determined that there should be no displays in the lobby where people will see it as they walk in. But the judge said the sheriff is free to hang the flag in his office.

Watson reportedly said if he is forced to put the flag in his office, he will put it up in the window and go to jail before he takes it down.

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