Apartment Dweller Defies Management, Won't Remove His American Flag — and His Name Could Be His Biggest Weapon

With a name matching one of America's Founding Fathers, you might picture this Greeley, Colorado, resident a dyed-in-the-wool political activist.

But no. This present-day Samuel Adams, who lives in the Sterling Heights apartments, told the Greeley Tribune he's "never done anything like this before. But it was the right time, and it was the right moment. I wanted to be a patriotic American and give tribute to our founding fathers and our veterans."

With that, Adams hung an American flag from his balcony at the complex, and his actions — and public stance on the matter — have made headlines outside of town.

Image source: YouTube

First, there was the letter from apartment management telling him to remove the flag, which he placed there in preparation for Independence Day.

Angered by the notice, Adams stood on his balcony behind his flag, recorded a video describing his discontent and posted it to YouTube and Facebook, where it has received more than 41,500 views as of Monday afternoon.

Sterling Heights Community Manager Pamela Buchanan told the Tribune that the apartment complex doesn't mind residents flying the American flag, just not on balconies — and that goes for signs or other decorations.

“Sterling Heights seeks to be fair to residents by limiting displays as there could be signs, flags or decorations that may be offensive and disruptive to the community,” she told the Tribune in an email.

But Adams — who isn't a vet but whose grandfather served as an Army surgeon in World War I and whose father was a dentist in the U.S. Navy — told the paper that management saying "the flag is inappropriate or comparable to trash is reprehensible to me.”

Senior Regional Manager Amie Robertshaw added to the Tribune that Adams wasn't singled out — other residents got similar notices.

“We really try hard to keep a nice, neat community and are diligent about our efforts to keep uniformity in appearance in the areas visible to others,” she told the paper in an email, adding that Adams and other residents are allowed to display flags on their balconies for the Fourth — but after that day they need to come down.

Adams, however, has no intention of removing Old Glory.

He told the Tribune he'll keep flying his flag even if it leads to his eviction — but he believes the management's ruling violates his freedom of speech.

“I thought this was just going to be a whisper but it has avalanched,” he told the paper regarding the reaction he's received. “I’m the kind of guy that when I see a man or woman in a uniform, I go up to them and say, ‘thank you for your service.’ I gladly accept the responsibility given to me of standing up for the veterans and families that have reached out to me.”