Order to Strike Flags Escalates City Battle With Business : Law: New tire store cited for flying 23 when ordinance allows only three. Owners claim the right to display all they want and vow to go to jail before taking any down.

A weeklong battle over Old Glory escalated Tuesday when city code enforcement officials fired off a citation to the owners of a new tire store for displaying too many American flags.

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The citation warned Big O Tires co-owners and self-proclaimed patriots Mike Altman and Ryan Christensen they have until Thursday to take down at least 20 of 23 flags or face fines and a possible six-month jail sentence. A 27-year-old sign and banner ordinance forbids citizens from flying more than three American flags on a property at one time.

But Altman and Christensen vow their Stars and Stripes display on West Lincoln Avenue isn’t coming down and that they’ll go to jail if necessary to keep the flags flying.

“No way we are taking down the flags,” said Christensen, 33, a former Eagle Scout and Boy Scouts leader. “This is a First Amendment right protected under freedom of speech and guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.”

But to city officials, the flap over the flags isn’t about the Constitution, it’s about aesthetics. They say the ordinance was enacted to reduce visual clutter.

If at least 20 of the flags are not retired Thursday, code enforcement officials warn, they will initially fine the businessmen $55. The pair would receive similar fines upon additional inspections as long as the flags continue to fly. Ultimately, the penalty could reach a fine of $1,000 and up to six months in jail for violating the code, a misdemeanor.

Said Altman, 32, who served in the Navy: “My reaction to that is if they (the city) want to come take them down, let them do it. I’m not.”

The skirmish started last week when city officials told the businessmen their proposed flag display would violate city codes. The pair say they found the rule “ridiculous” and spent $3,000 anyway to install the flags last Friday.

Altman said he plans to meet with city officials next week to discuss obtaining a variance for the flags. But if the city grants the variance, he said, it wants $800 for the special permit.

“I don’t think I should have to pay close to $1,000 to fly the flag,” Altman said. “That’s ridiculous.”

The businessmen argue a state law, which supersedes the city ordinance, protects their right to fly the 23 flags. The state law prohibits limiting displays of the American flag for “solely aesthetic considerations,” but does allow restrictions if the flags are used for advertising purposes.