Veterans Group to Protest Flag Removal at Hampshire College

TALLADEGA, AL - MAY 05: A giant American Flag waves above the track during the NASCAR Spr
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A group of veterans is planning to protest Hampshire College’s decision to remove the U.S. flag from campus Sunday with hundreds of U.S. flags.

Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 754 of Amherst, Massachusetts and others plan to meet at the college’s West Street entrance at 1 p.m. Sunday for a “peaceful demonstration of freedom,” the Recorder reports.

Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno also plans to join the veterans in protest, WWLP reports.

The protest is in response to Hampshire College’s decision to remove the U.S. flag after it was lowered to half-staff in response to Trump’s victory and then burned the night before Veterans Day.

Hampshire College President Jonathan Lash announced last Friday that the flag’s removal would be indefinite.

Lash said in an email that the flag was removed to allow for discussion at the college.

“There’s other ways that he (Lash) could have dealt with this,” VFW Post Commander Victor A. Nunez Ortiz said. “(Removing) our flag is disrespectful not just to the men and women who have served, but to all Americans who believe our flag is a symbol of freedom.”

Ortiz said that he expects people will come from across New England to join the protest.

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