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Supreme Court rules against Boston in Christian flag case

Visitors walk outside the Supreme Court building on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Feb. 21, 2022. (Patrick Semansky/AP)
Visitors walk outside the Supreme Court building on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Feb. 21, 2022. (Patrick Semansky/AP)

A unanimous Supreme Court ruled Monday that Boston violated the free speech rights of a conservative activist when it refused his request to fly a Christian flag on a flagpole outside City Hall.

Justice Stephen Breyer wrote for the court that the city discriminated against Harold Shurtleff because of his “religious viewpoint,” as it had routinely approved applications by private groups to fly various flags.

A spokesperson said the city is reviewing its flag-raising policy and "will ensure that future City of Boston programs are aligned with this decision."

The flag program was suspended during the legal proceedings. Boston flies three flags consistently outside City Hall: an American flag, Massachusetts state flag and the city's own pennant. During the program, it would temporarily hoist another flag in place of the city's.

Shurtleff and his Camp Constitution wanted to fly a white banner with a red cross on a blue background in the upper left corner, called the Christian flag.

Breyer said the case, Shurtleff v. Boston, hinged on whether the flag-flying is an act of the government, in which case Boston can do whatever it wants, or private parties like Shurtleff.

Breyer wrote that “the city’s lack of meaningful involvement in the selection of flags or the crafting of their messages leads us to classify the flag raisings as private, not government, speech—though nothing prevents Boston from changing its policies going forward.”

In an interview with WBUR Monday, Shurtleff said he saw the ruling as a win for free speech rights.

"So it's more than just the flag — it's going to be able to set the First Amendment straight. This is what it really means," he said.

The city previously said that in the event of a loss before the Supreme Court it would probably change its policy to take greater control of what flags can fly.

Shurtleff said he'd apply to fly the Christian flag again if the program is reinstated.


With reporting from WBUR's Walt Wuthmann and The Associated Press

This article was originally published on May 02, 2022.

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