Image source: WMBB-TV video screenshot
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Homeowner refuses to take down 3-story 'Trump Won,' 'Let's Go Brandon' banners despite mounting daily fines: 'People needed to see what I believe in'
November 02, 2021
For a man getting fined $50 a day for flying outlawed banners on his Florida panhandle home, the smile on Marvin Peavy's face is a curious phenomenon.
"I'm here on the beach, and I got a lot of traffic, and people needed to see what I believe in," a grinning Peavy told WMBB-TV. "That's free speech, and I wanted everyone to know that I'm a Republican and I'm supporting Donald Trump."
Image source: WMBB-TV video screenshot
Specifically, Peavy is incurring fines from Walton County Code Enforcement officials for each day he leaves up his three-story "Trump Won" and "Let's Go Brandon" banners that hang from a balcony on his Seagrove Beach residence, which the station said sits on the exclusive 30A road.
What are the details?
A compliance magistrate said at a code enforcement hearing last month that the "Trump Won" banner violates the county's land development code, WMBB reported.
Peavy's "Trump Won" banner went up in May, the station said, and he doubled down Saturday by hanging a "Let's Go Brandon" banner.
On Sunday a number of folks showed up in front of Peavy's house to support him, WMBB said.
Image source: WMBB-TV video screenshot
"People admire people that stand up, and we have got to start standing up," Bill Fletcher, chairman of the Walton County Republican Executive Committee, told the station. "He is the epitome of somebody who will stand up for his First Amendment right."
Image source: WMBB-TV video screenshot
"I had attended the code enforcement meeting when this was brought up," supporter Tabitha Howard added to WMBB, "and I was quite shocked when they said they were going to fine him $50 a day for a banner that's on his private property."
Image source: WMBB-TV video screenshot
What's the background?
Peavy initially flew a large Trump 2020 banner on his home last year, then took it down after President Joe Biden's inauguration, the station said.
Image source: WMBB-TV video screenshot
Walton County didn't take action against Peavy for that banner because it was up during an active election cycle, which is allowed under local code, WMBB reported.
Michael Lynch, a county code compliance official, added to the station that the land-use code preserves the visual structure of the peaceful beach vacation community and that banner content is irrelevant.
The banners are staying up
Whatever the case, Peavy told WMBB he has no plans to remove the banners — and what's more, he added that folks from all over the country have offered to pay the fines, including a Louisiana woman who said she'd pay the fines for the next two years.
If the code compliance magistrate once again finds Peavy in violation at the Nov. 17 hearing, the station said his fines will be due and will continue to accrue each day the banners remain up.
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Sr. Editor, News
Dave Urbanski is a senior editor for Blaze News.
DaveVUrbanski
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