Virginia attorney says county cannot remove Confederate flag

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In this Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2017 photo, Kim Wyman speaks to the Stafford County Board of Supervisors in opposition to the Confederate flag flying near I-95 in Falmouth, Va. Stafford County Attorney Charles Shumate says the county has no legal authority to remove the flag which is on private property. (Suzanne Carr Rossi/The Free Lance-Star via AP)

STAFFORD, Va. – Officials in a Virginia county told residents that they cannot force a private property owner to remove a huge Confederate flag that flies on a 90-foot (27-meter) flagpole.

Some two dozen residents attended the Stafford County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday night. They urged officials to either remove the flag, which measures 30 feet by 22 feet (9 metres to 6 metres), or regulate its size.

Stafford County Attorney Charles Shumate said the county has no legal authority to remove the flag from private property. The flag flies over Interstate 95, near Falmouth.

Kim Wyman, a resident who attended the meeting, said the Confederate flag is a symbol of hate.

Confederate symbols have been under increased scrutiny since deadly violence at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville last month.

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Abbey Westbury

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