A half-staff flag for Charlie Kirk in Lexington sparks controversy among residents

Lexington, along with the rest of the country, flew its American flag at half-staff to pay respects to Charlie Kirk, the conservative political activist who was fatally shot at Utah Valley University in Orem, UT, on Sept. 10. 

President Trump ordered federal buildings, lands, and entities to lower American flags to half-staff from Sept. 10 to sunset on Sept. 14. (On Sept. 11, the lowered flags also paid tribute to those who died in the terrorist attacks 24 years ago). Gov. Maura Healey directed all state buildings to do the same.

The official act of mourning sparked controversy across the nation, including in Lexington. 

Here at home, someone cut the rope attached to the American flag on Lexington’s Battle Green Sunday, added more rope, and raised the flag back up to the top of the pole, officials told WCVB. Crews re-lowered the flag after the incident. 

Lexington Police are still investigating what happened, Police Chief Michael McLean told the Observer. 

The American flag is usually flown at half-staff when government officials, military leaders, or other public servants die; when there are natural disasters, terrorist attacks, or mass shootings that kill large numbers of Americans; and to mark solemn days including Memorial Day, Pearl Harbor Day, and the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. The president can also order the flag to be lowered to half-staff for non-officials. In the past, presidents have extended the honor to public figures such as Nelson Mandela and His Holiness Pope Francis.

Lexington’s flag-lowering policy is to follow whatever the White House or state order, according to the Select Board’s flag half-staff policy. So that’s what the town did when Trump and Healey ordered flags to be lowered for Kirk. 

The town’s list of past flag-lowering occurrences going back to 2008 shows it has not historically lowered its flags to honor non-elected political figures. Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the only activists Lexington has lowered its flags for. 

In keeping with federal directives, Lexington has lowered its flags to honor former President Jimmy Carter, United States Senator John McCain, and United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, among others. 

Outside of state and national orders, the town has also lowered its flag when local veterans, public safety officials, and long-standing town meeting members or volunteers die. 

Lexington residents have had lively debates over Trump’s decision to lower flags for Kirk on local Google and Facebook groups. Some who disapprove of honoring Kirk in this way blame Lexington’s Select Board for allowing the ritual to happen. 

But the Select Board could not have interjected, even if it wanted to, due to the timeline of events, Joe Pato, a member of Lexington’s Select Board explained to the Observer.  

The Board could have gone against its own policy and chosen not to lower the flag, but it would have had to hold a meeting to have that discussion and make that decision, Pato said. And the Select Board must give a notice of 48 business hours to hold a meeting, according to state law. 

“In this case, that meeting could only occur after the flag was back at full staff,” Pato explained. “The presidential and gubernatorial orders were issued on Wednesday. The earliest we could have deliberated was Monday of this week after the flag was raised.”

If it weren’t for the issue of timing, the town could have potentially made it’s own decision about the flag lowering.

When a president orders flags to be lowered, only the American flags at federal buildings, lands, and entities under his control must be lowered. While Lexington’s Battle Green is a National Historic Landmark, it’s owned and maintained by the town, not Washington, so it’s not required to be lowered under Trump’s order. 

A similar rule goes for when Healey orders flags to be lowered — only state buildings must lower their flags to half-staff when she sends out an order.

The town might have gotten some backlash online, like Bergen County in New Jersey did, if it chose not to lower the flag on the Green, though. 

Bergen County did not lower its flags because, similar to Lexington, its policy is to follow whatever the state orders. But unlike Healey, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy did not issue an order matching Trump’s for the state of New Jersey, so many local flags remained at full-staff.

“Is it a breach of etiquette? Perhaps…Is it a breach of protocol? No,” flag expert James Ferrigan, known as a “vexilogist,” or someone who studies flags and their symbolism, told NBC New York.

Lexington did not lower its flags when Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman — who was a “current official” in respect to the US flag code — and her husband, Mark, were killed earlier this year, likely because there was no order from the White House to do so. 

Many Americans are upset that Trump issued a half-staff flag mandate for Kirk, but not for Hortman and her husband, who were also killed as an act of political violence. 

Trump blames Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for that one. 

“Had the governor of Minnesota asked me to do that, I would have done that gladly,” Trump told a CBS reporter while taking questions from reporters in the Oval Office.

Ultimately, Lexington will almost always go with what the president or governor orders when it comes to lowering the flag. The Select Board’s power to consider for whom the town lowers its American flags to half-staff usually ends up applying only when local residents pass. 

“It is rarely a reaction to a recent event,” Pato said.