A local government official in Iowa has said he would refuse to comply with orders from the Republican state governor to fly flags at half-staff in honor of rightwing political activist Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot on Wednesday.
Jon Green, the chair of the Johnson county board of supervisors in Iowa, announced on Thursday on social media that he would not follow governor Kim Reynolds’s directive to fly flags at half-staff for Kirk through Sunday evening.
“I condemn Kirk’s killing, regardless of who pulled the trigger or why,” Green, who is a Democrat, wrote. “But I will not grant Johnson county honors to a man who made it his life’s mission to denigrate so many of the constituents I have sworn an oath to protect – and who did so much to harm not only the marginalized – but also to degrade the fabric of our body politic.”
Green told the Gazette newspaper that his stand was motivated by Reynolds’ failure to issue a similar order after other prominent cases of gun violence. For instance, Iowa did not honor Minnesota’s Democratic house speaker Melissa Hortman when she was shot to death alongside her husband, Mark, at their home in June in what investigators suspect was an act of political violence.
The announcement from Green did say that Johnson county flags would fly at half-staff on Friday in remembrance of those killed in the September 11 terrorist attacks 24 years earlier. And he also paid tribute to two students at a high school in Evergreen, Colorado, who were shot and wounded at their campus by a peer who died by suicide on the same day of Kirk’s killing.
“Johnson county flags will fly as usual,” Green added. “I will accept any consequence, whether legal or electoral, for my decision. It is mine alone.”
Reynolds responded by criticizing Green’s decision on social media, saying that it was “disgraceful that a locally elected official has chosen to put politics above human decency during a time like this”.
In a statement given to the Des Moines Register, Democratic Iowa state senator Zach Wahls, who represents parts of Johnson county, said he disagreed with Green’s decision to not lower the flags.
“I don’t think that’s the appropriate decision,” Wahls said, adding: “I think they should comply with the governor’s instructions on this topic.”
However, supervisor Mandi Remington, another Democratic member of the Johnson county board of supervisors in Iowa, supported Green’s decision. She told the Des Moines Register that “while I condemn political violence, lowering our county’s flags is an honor that should reflect our community’s values”.
“Charlie Kirk spent his career working to marginalize LGBTQ+ people, undermine women’s rights, and divide our country along lines of hate and exclusion,” Remington said.
“Johnson county is home to a diverse community, including many who were the direct targets of Kirk’s rhetoric. To honor him with our flags would be to dismiss the harm he caused to our neighbors and constituents.
“Supervisor Green’s stance affirms that our county will not elevate voices that work to strip others of dignity, freedom, and belonging. I believe this decision is a principled one, rooted in respect for the people of Johnson county and the constitutional values we are sworn to protect.”
Green’s defiance of Reynolds came amid a coordinated effort to clamp down on critical commentary about Kirk, leading people across the US to either be fired from or disciplined at their jobs.
According to what Green told HuffPost, he is “entirely confident” he has acted within his rights, saying has not satisfied any of the conditions under Iowa state law which could enable Reynolds to oust him from his post.
“The governor has no authority to remove me from office,” Green remarked to the outlet. “I’m sure if she thought she had some legal basis to do anything to me, she wouldn’t have posted on [social media]. She would’ve sent the law for me.”
On Saturday, the Kirk-founded Turning Point USA announced that a memorial service would be held for him on 21 September at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, where the NFL’s Cardinals play their home games.
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