New Jersey Man Ticketed by Town for Flying Donald Trump Flags

West Long Branch, NJ - This tiny shore town has a policy: No political signs may be erected outside a private home before 30 days of an election, and they must be removed five days after the election.

That's why the borough says it fined West Long Branch resident Joseph Hornick for flying two Donald Trump flags outside his home.

"The ordinance states that the display of political signs is prohibited before 30 days prior to an election, and must be removed five days after," said Lori Cole, the West Long Branch clerk. She added that Hornick must appear for a court date, scheduled for April 20, and is facing a minimum fine of $100, or up to $2,000 if he doesn't take the flags down. Because of the way the ordinance is written, the punishment could be jail time if he refuses to comply, she said.

Hornick, 54, a retired West Long Branch firefighter, was issued a ticket March 25 for flying Trump's signature bright blue "Make America Great Again" flags.

He said he was shocked when police showed up at his home and wrote him the ticket that day. That's because he's called the police himself up to five times to report that the flags have either been stolen or vandalized since he put them up. When officers showed up at his door on March 25, he thought they were there to take a report for yet another theft of the flags.

Instead he got a ticket. Cole told Patch the town checked the ordinance with the borough's attorney before writing him the ticket.

"People have been robbing my flags, terrorizing me," Hornick told Patch. "So I really wish the police would help me catch these people who are criminally trespassing on my property. I am looking at the police to help me and give me justice. Instead, they come to my house and deny my freedom of speech. The West Long Branch police should be fighting crime, and not flags."

Former Democratic Councilman complained about the Trump flags

According to the police report on the ticket obtained by Patch, another West Long Branch resident Brian Hegarty – a former Democratic councilman – called police on March 25. He asked why the town's ordinance wasn't being followed even after he had called the municipal code enforcement officer several times to complain about Hornick's flags.

"Hegarty did not understand why the flag had not been removed as he had spoken several times with James Miller, WLB Code Enforcement," the officer wrote in his report.

Miller told police he called Hornick and asked him to take down the flag, but Hornick ignored his request.

The police officer sent Hornick a copy of the ordinance and again asked him to remove the flags. Hornick said he would not, and would fight any summons. After that, he was was issued a ticket.

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Not backing down, not taking the Trump flags down

Hornick says the flags aren't political signs: They're flags, no different than if he hung up a New York Yankees flag, or an American flag, both of which he would not be fined for.

"I'm not a football fan. I'm not a sports fan. But what I have honestly become is a Donald Trump fan," he told Patch. "And I can't believe my freedom of expression is being violated like this. I'm allowed to hang a flag on my property."

"The ordinance is talking about campaign signs — this is a flag. A flag is protected by my constitutional rights," he said. "Let's say a Nazi flag. I would never fly that, because that image is offensive to so many people. Or an ISIS flag — that is criminal to fly. I would never fly that, either. But a flag saying 'Let's Make America Great Again?' That is my right to fly that."

Even if a judge orders him to remove the flags, he will not, he vowed.

"I will go to jail to support this principle. If I have to be incarcerated to make my point, so be it," he said. "If this gets Donald Trump a million votes, I'm happy for it."

Photos: Donald J. Trump on the campaign trail; Hornick's West Long Branch home with one of the Trump flags flying, at right.