A group of California homeowners says their HOA has sparked outrage by ordering them to remove American flags from their properties just days before the nation marks its 250th anniversary.
Amy and Chris Cooke, along with neighbor Terri Collins, said they were warned last week that they could face $100 fines unless they took down the Stars and Stripes displayed outside their homes in San Marcos, in San Diego County.
The residents allege the association has intensified its scrutiny since President Trump’s reelection in 2024, targeting flag displays along their quiet street, where homes are valued at just under $1 million on average.
The Cookes and Collins said they are angry and prepared to accept any penalties, while adding that some neighbors have already removed their flags after pressure from the Ambiance Owners’ Association.
In a letter sent before the 2024 election, the HOA board described the flag as expressing a “political or affiliative view” and claimed it would “degrade the common area.”
Amy, 62, who works as a supervised visitation monitor for children, told the California 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.”
She continued: “The American Flag is a symbol of freedom, we know where their brain is at.”
The Cookes said they have displayed the U.S. flag outside their home for two decades, with Chris explaining that the tribute honors his grandfather, Alexander Christie, who died during the Second World War.
The Navy sailor was killed in the 1944 Battle of Leyte Ship against Japan — the biggest naval fight in history — where his ship the USS Princeton was sank.
He was awarded Navy Purple Heart and Navy Cross for his bravery. “He died trying to rescue people,” Chris, a 56-year-old wine distributor, said.
His mother was just one month old when her father died. He said: “The generational impact was substantial, my grandmother was suddenly a widowed and a single mother.”
The couple says the war with the HOA started around the 2024 election when they received a letter from the Ambiance Board of Directors restricting areas to fly the stars and stripes.
It limited them to only fly it in “exclusive use” areas, such as their backyards. Common areas such as the front of the house were off-limits.
The letter, obtained by the California Post, said: “Once the members allow use of a common property by an owner to express what is essentially a political or affiliative view in a flag, other owners will want to do the same and the common area will degrade.”
Subsequent responses fined the couple $100 for the flag being outside the front of their home, its size and for displaying it in “common areas.”
The Freedom to fly the American Flag Act was passed by Congress in 2005, stopping HOAs for prohibiting the US Flag being flown on homes.
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But they are allowed to regulate the way it is displayed, including decisions about size, location and the structural details of the pole or mount.
Terri has flown hers for 35 years and received the same notice as the Cookes. She said the neighborhood is very patriotic and rooted in military service “because we are close to the old Miramar Navy Base, all the Top Gun pilots lived here.”
She told The Post: “Different political opinions should have nothing to do with it.” She continued: “We have the ability to hang a flag on our palm trees. I’m buying a giant flag, and I mean giant.”
Terri claimed the majority of the seven board members “are not pro American — except two but they are outnumbered.”
The letter saying homeowners cannot fly flags in the common areas and issuing fines have scared some of their neighbors.
Terri said she has seen flags come down over the past couple months one by one. Only the Cooke and her Stars and Stripes are still flying in front of their houses.
Terri added: “I’m not taking my flag down. They can fine me, $100, $200, $1,000, I’m not paying it.”
The Cookes have been granted a 15-minute Zoom hearing with the board on Tuesday. If they do not convince them to back down they said they plan to set up a crowdfunding page to retain a lawyer.
Chris said: “We’ve never sued anyone in our life. We’re just here to fly our flag and be left alone. There’s enough division, we shouldn’t have to do this, But we don’t want to be pushed into submission.”
Despite the board’s attack, both the Cookes and Terri plan on celebrating the Fourth of July and America’s 250th birthday in style.
The Cookes will celebrate in the traditional style they have for years, by hitting the community pool, playing cards, having a BBQ and watching the community fireworks show.
Chris added: “Don’t forget the apple pie for dessert.”
California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton told The Post: “What is wrong with these people? We are just about to celebrate the 250th birthday of our country.
“One of the most beautiful and magnificent things about America is the way we show our love of our country together all the time.
“The national anthem before sports events. The Pledge of Allegiance at public events. The Stars and Stripes everywhere.
“And now these tin-pot bureaucrats at some ridiculous HOA want to trample on our flag and stifle national pride at this of all moments? What a bunch of anti-American losers.
“I hope everyone in that neighborhood not only ignores their HOA but doubles and trebles the number of American flags they display on this very special anniversary for our nation.”
The Post reached out to the Ambiance HOA for comment but did not hear back.
