Flag man's decorating becomes public safety issue

What started out years ago as a nice touch throughout Leesburg has developed into an eyesore and public safety issue.

Leesburg resident Mike Sanders, known as the "Flag Man", started decorating various poles, the courthouse grounds, businesses and overpasses with flags in 2009 following the death of a soldier from Purcellville. He quickly became somewhat of an iconic figure in Leesburg in his neon yellow clothing and sunglasses. He waves to drivers and stays for extended periods of time in spots he is decorating, making him highly visible.

Fifteen years later, Leesburg residents are saying "enough". The public has taken to Reddit and other social media platforms to complain about Sanders.

"His stuff is everywhere now. The Town has let him get away with this for so long that it has lost control of the situation. I believe his intentions were well meaning at first, but now it's just an eyesore," said Kevin Mills of Leesburg.

Sanders, an avid bicyclist, started out with only a few flags and a bicycle.

But his decorating has turned into two vehicles stuffed full of flags of all sizes, banners, wooden sticks, car parts, wind chimes, bells, lawn ornaments, pinwheels, Dollar Tree seasonal decor, sunglasses, macrame, stuffed animals, plastic birds and owls, and mannequin parts. He hangs this material on the courthouse grounds, overpasses, the Target Shopping Center on Edwards Ferry Road and various businesses throughout Leesburg.

Most notably, he is fond of decorating the Bank of Clarke and Capital One Bank on E. Market Street and the former Loudoun National Bank building, bought in April by Stone Tower Winery/Belfort Furniture, at the intersection of S. King Street and E. Market Street. However, his material has also been seen at gas stations and churches.

Sanders has also extensively littered the Rt. 7 overpass at Clarks Gap with material on both sides of the overpass. This is extremely dangerous for the traffic below should material break off and land on vehicles traveling underneath the overpass. The Virginia Department of Transportation, which maintains the overpass, was sent pictures of the littered overpass and notified several weeks ago.

According to the United States Flag Code, American flag etiquette states it is customary to display the flag only from sunrise to sunset on buildings and on stationary flagstaffs in the open. However, when a patriotic effect is desired, the flag may be displayed twenty-four hours a day if properly illuminated during the hours of darkness. The flag should be hoisted briskly and lowered ceremoniously.

The flag should not be displayed on days when the weather is inclement, except when an all-weather flag is displayed. The flag should not be draped over the hood, top, sides, or back of a vehicle or of a railroad train or a boat. When the flag is displayed on a motorcar, it shall be fixed firmly to the chassis or clamped to the right fender.

Most noticeable has been Sanders' complete monopolization of the Target Shopping Center. During this past summer, every single electrical pole and directional road sign at both points of entrance into the shopping center was decorated with Sanders' material. He had scaled the 30 foot high poles to place material on them with hundreds of zip ties. He had bought cardboard lettering from a party store and hung the word "Hope" on a pole 10 feet into the air.

"That is beyond dangerous," said Nancy Little of Ashburn who shops at Costco. "If he falls from one of those poles he will fall directly into oncoming traffic," noting the poles are within mere feet of cars entering and exiting the shopping center.

A small group of customers formed to watch him scaling the electrical poles. Two were from England and said they were video recording Sanders. "We've never seen anything like this," they said. Someone called Leesburg Police. An officer showed up, listened to Sanders talk for 20 minutes about his philosophy on patriotism, and then left without doing anything.

The group of concerned customers then cut down and removed all the material after the police officer and Sanders left the shopping center. Presently, only some flags and banners too high to reach without jeopardizing safety are still on the grounds.

Most recently, on Sept. 20, police were called back out again to Target when Sanders was noticed hanging a mannequin head on a pole and then affixing sunglasses to it, and for concern about the material covering Sanders' SUV. Officers Ford and Wagner responded, but again left the scene without doing anything.

It is a violation to occlude license plates and obstruct a driver's view out the front or back windows.

In an email from Police Chief Thea Pirnat on Sept. 23, she stated: "We are unable to take enforcement action on a vehicle that is not being operated on public roadways." Yet, police officers routinely issue citations when vehicles are parked and not moving, such as improper display of license plate stickers, improper or expired registration, abandoned vehicles, broken down vehicles, etc.

Pirnat further stated: "Additionally, Target, as well as other private property owners, are responsible for handling matters related to decorations or items placed on their property."

"But is it really when material attached high on poles snap off in high winds or a storm and injure someone? By Pirnat's line of reasoning, we should all be allowed to hang items from power lines on our personal property that could snap off and injure an innocent person walking by, fall on another person's property or damage a car traveling underneath? Doesn't sound like she's thought this through," said Little.

Asked if the Leesburg Police Department could, at minimum, have a conversation with Sanders to make him aware of the public safety danger his vehicles cause to the public if material breaks off while he is driving on roadways, Chief Pirnat did not respond.

"I despise how this town/area thinks his mental illness is charming. [Sanders] zip ties garbage to public and private infrastructure and it looks trashy, and his vehicle is a safety hazard," said a Reddit member two years ago. This statement received 121 likes from other Reddit users.

Others echoed similar sentiments. Nearly all agreed this has become a public safety issue, yet the Leesburg Police Department and the Town of Leesburg are taking a hands off approach.

It's been suggested to the Town to give Flag Man a spot within a Leesburg park to allow him to create a sculpture in exchange for the agreement that he stop decorating roads and private property he does not own. A discussion about that is slated for the Oct. 9 Leesburg Commission on Public Arts.

Some Leesburg Council members suggested Freedom Park would be the ideal place, given its 9/11 memorial located at the entrance to the park. The park is located at the intersection of Evergreen Mill Road and Tolbert Lane with several athletic fields.