Plymouth Business Owner Refuses to Take Down American Flags

"Over my dead body," said Steven Kahian.

That was the business owner's response to an order from the Town of Plymouth he believes indicates he needs to remove the roughly eight American flags on the front lawn of his Long Pond Road business, located not far from Route 3. And he's not backing down from his belief that the town is referring to this flags, even as others are saying that's not the case.

Kahian wrote on the business' Facebook page that he would need to hear the reason why his flags can't be flown in court and warned zoning inspectors that he'd call the police if someone tried to remove them.

He says he was floored when the town's inspector entered his business yesterday and asked him to take down a "Now Open" sign (which he agreed needed to be taken down) and the 18-inch tall American flags.

Kahian rifled off the names of a number of local veterans, including one that was captured and tortured during wartime. He says that he grew up with these men, that he considers them heroes, and that the flags that he planted on June 14th, Flag Day, are in their memory.

"The Town of Plymouth should be ashamed of themselves," Kahian told Fun 107.

We reached out to Plymouth inspectors Friday, but did not receive a call back as of this writing.

Kahian said that the town has begun to walk back the demand. He said that his state rep visited the inspector today and was told that the business would be able to leave the American flags up.

A town official stated on social media that the "strings of flags" in the letter was not referring to the American flag.

The town's sign violation notice stated that "strings of flags" would "unduly divert driver attention from the road" and are not permitted. However, there was no clear indication that the letter meant Kahian's American flags, or rather a string of multi-colored triangular flags often seen outside car dealerships or "grand opening"-style events.

Kahian told Fun 107 that he hasn't had the time to sell any appliances today because he's received so many calls of support.