A disabled Vietnam War veteran was ordered to take down a pro-Trump flag he had installed at his home in a suburb of New York City.
Leonard Amicola told News 12 that he was fined by city leaders in Croton-on-Hudson because they said his “Trump is My President” flag violated the town’s “content-neutral code.”
Amicola, who has lived in the town for 67 years, contends that he has a constitutional right to fly whatever flag he wants to on his private property — including on his tree.
“I did at one time have it on the pole, and one night somebody came and took it and it was gone,” he told the television station. “So that’s I think when I decided to put it up there — which is, they can’t get to it.”
He wrote an op-ed for the Croton Chronicle explaining why he refused to take down the flag.
I am the son of a man who fled a fascist dictatorship to come to America. My father refused to serve in Mussolini’s army. His family was also opposed to Mussolini, and they hid him when government troops came by to round up draftees.
My father came to the United States in 1928. He told me “I am American first, and Italian second.” He remained opposed to fascism, and was proud to serve in the US Army during World War II. Many of my family served as well.
I graduated Croton High School in 1966 and joined the Army. Some of my classmates served during the Vietnam War. Some did not. It was a choice each of us had to make on our own. We grew up fast and accepted the consequences of our decisions.
I was sent to Texas to serve on the burial Honor Guard. It was an assignment nobody wanted. I was 19 years old and serving at the funerals of other 19 year olds. It was difficult. After four funerals, I couldn’t do it anymore. I was sent to a military camp in the jungle along the Thai border with Laos. To keep back the jungle, chemicals were sprayed to kill the foliage. I am living with the effects of that today and have been granted a disability pension and VA care due to Agent Orange.
My choices and my politics are my own. I don’t always agree with other people’s opinions in Croton but all of us have the right to free speech.
People ask me why I don’t surrender and take down my flag. It is because of the values I learned growing up here in Croton. It is because I am my father’s son.
It appears that the village of Croton-on-Hudson is dealing with an infestation of Trump Derangement Syndrome. What a terrible thing city leaders are doing by targeting an elderly military veteran simply because of his political beliefs. Shameful.