Maria Leaf
WMAL.com

A massive Confederate Flag that used to fly along I-95 in Stafford Co has been taken down.  The Virginia Flaggers removed it in a ceremony on Wednesday after learning the Virginia Department of Transportation was taking the parcel of land through eminent domain for the the Northbound Rappahannock River Crossing Project.

According to Stafford County Board of Supervisors Vice Chair Mark Dudenhefer, the project is taking place to reduce congestion along the highway in the Fredericksburg area. VDOT will be building a ramp to extend the I-95 Express Lanes. Dudenhefer announced the plans for the flag’s removal and the construction project on his facebook page earlier this week, but has since removed that post.

In a statement provided to WMAL, the Virginia Flaggers say they are working on a new location for the Stars and Bars:

“Since it was raised in May of 2014 and dedicated to the honor and memory of the citizen soldiers who gave their lives on the field of honor, the Va Flaggers’ I-95 Fredericksburg Memorial Battle Flag in Stafford County has been the constant target of vicious hate by a handful of local radicals. Prominently displayed on one of the busiest stretches of I-95, traffic comes to a stand still DAILY, numerous times in front of the site, and the flag, located just an hour South of DC, is viewed by thousands of motorists every hour.

Haters pressed the county for years to make it go away. One lady even gained national media attention when she vowed to raise a BLM flag nearby. She even raised $8500 in a gofundme account towards her project before disappearing back north. There were lawsuits to have the flag removed on the grounds of permits and zoning, all tossed as the county admitted that the construction was by permit and accordance with all laws, and the memorial flag was protected by the First Amendment.

Earlier this year, we received word that due to highway expansion, the land on which the flag sits would be taken by eminent domain.

By claiming eminent domain, the state was able to seize the property, and subsequently force the removal of the flag, in blatant disregard of our First Amendment rights to freedom of expression on private property.
We were initially told that construction would not start for some time, but received notification yesterday that the construction would begin today and the flag must be removed by noon (Thursday, October 29). We assembled a team of men and respectfully retrieved the 20’ x 30’ flag in a brief ceremony yesterday afternoon.

While the temporary removal was a difficult one, we are comforted in the knowledge that for 6 ½ years, she flew proudly and defiantly, and in the face of some of the most challenging times for Southerners here in occupied Virginia, was an encouragement to millions who caught a glimpse of her.

The Commonwealth has suffered some serious setbacks in the past few months, and this is a major one, but it will in NO WAY impede our work or change our course. In fact, we already have SEVERAL locations that have been offered for relocation on Interstate 95, near the original site. We removed the flag today with the promise that it will be a temporary removal, and the flag has been placed in safekeeping for the rededication and raising at its new location, to be announced in the coming months.

Democrats in Virginia are hell bent on destroying every vestige of our history and history and expect we will go away quietly into the night. We are determined they WILL NOT succeed. Construction on our next flag site will begin this week, and we have several others in various stages of development. At our annual picnic last month, we made the pledge to raise a memorial flag and/or monument in every County/City in Virginia, starting with locations where monuments have been removed, and we plan to make good on that promise.”

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