Three homeowners in San Marcos, California, are refusing to back down after their homeowners association warned them to remove American flags from outside their homes or face $100 fines, a demand that arrived just days before the nation's 250th birthday celebration on the Fourth of July.
The Ambiance Owners Association, which governs a townhome community in San Diego County, sent violation notices to residents Amy and Christopher Cooke and their neighbor Terri Collins, characterizing the display of Old Glory as an expression of "a political or affiliative view" that would cause common areas to "degrade." The HOA gave the homeowners 15 days to remove the flags or face enforcement action.
The homeowners aren't budging. And at least one has promised to sue.
The Cookes' flag has flown outside their home for more than 20 years, Fox News reported. It flies in honor of a family member killed in World War II who was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross and the Purple Heart. That context makes the HOA's letter land with particular weight.
The neighborhood sits near the former Miramar Navy Air Station, the original home of the Navy's TOPGUN school. Residents describe the community as deeply patriotic.
Amy Cooke told the New York Post:
"We are outraged, if you want to fly your flag fly it, this is America. We are the land of the free and home of the brave, this is crazy. There's a significant difference between some random flag for whatever you support and the American flag, the symbol of our country. It's not just a flag. It's a symbol."
Collins was equally direct. Just the News reported her response:
"I'm not taking my flag down. They can fine me, $100, $200, $1,000, I'm not paying it."
The Cookes were expected to meet with the HOA board the following day. They have stated they will sue if the association does not reverse course.
The HOA board's letter laid out its position plainly enough. It warned that permitting one homeowner to express "what is essentially a political or affiliative view in a flag" on common property would invite others to do the same, and "the common area will degrade."
Set aside the absurdity of equating the Stars and Stripes with a random political banner. The HOA's own legal footing appears shaky.
Federal law, the Freedom to Fly the American Flag Act of 2005, prevents homeowners associations from prohibiting U.S. flag displays, though it does allow regulation of the size, location, and method of display. California state law goes further. It prohibits HOAs from banning American flag displays on homeowners' own property, while permitting reasonable rules governing placement, manner, or safety.
Courtney Corbello, counsel at the Center for American Liberty, told Fox News:
"California law is clear. While homeowners associations may adopt reasonable rules governing the manner, placement, or safety of flag displays, they cannot prohibit homeowners from flying the American flag on their own property."
Corbello added a sharper point:
"No homeowner should be threatened with fines for respectfully displaying the flag of the country they love, especially on the eve of America's 250th birthday."
This fight did not begin last week. The HOA has been pushing residents to take down their American flags since shortly before the 2024 presidential election, a timeline that raises its own questions about the board's motivations. Labeling the American flag as "political" in the weeks before a national election is a choice, and not a neutral one.
Some neighbors have already complied and removed their flags under pressure. Collins, the Cookes, and at least one other unnamed resident have refused.
The HOA has not yet issued actual fines, as far as available reporting indicates. But the violation notices carry the explicit threat of a $100 penalty, and the 15-day compliance window signals the board intends to follow through.
HOA disputes over American flag displays are not new. They surface regularly across the country, often in communities where a small governing board exercises outsized authority over what residents can do on or near their own property. Congress passed the 2005 federal law precisely because the problem had grown common enough to require a legislative fix.
What makes the San Marcos case particularly galling is the HOA's framing. The board did not cite a safety concern or a structural issue. It did not argue the flags violated a specific size or placement rule. It called the American flag a "political or affiliative view", language that treats the national banner as equivalent to a campaign yard sign or a partisan bumper sticker.
That framing tells you everything about the mindset behind the letter. In a neighborhood near a former Navy installation, in a community where at least one family flies the flag to honor a relative who gave his life in combat, the HOA board looked at the Stars and Stripes and saw a problem to manage.
The Cookes' meeting with the HOA board was expected to take place on Tuesday. No outcome from that meeting has been reported. If the board does not relent, the Cookes have said they intend to pursue legal action, and they now have the attention of the Center for American Liberty, which has signaled its own interest in the case.
The legal landscape favors the homeowners. Both federal and California state law protect the right to display the American flag, and HOAs that cross the line from reasonable regulation into outright prohibition tend to lose in court. The Ambiance Owners Association may soon learn that lesson firsthand.
Amy Cooke put it simply: "The American Flag is a symbol of freedom, we know where their brain is at."
When a homeowners association in San Diego County looks at the flag of the United States and sees a political nuisance, the problem isn't the flag. It's the people running the board.
