As Americans prepare to celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday, homeowners in an upscale Southern California community say they’re being threatened with fines for flying Old Glory.
Residents in San Marcos, whose townhome community is governed by the Ambiance Owners Association, are refusing to remove American flags displayed outside their homes despite notices from the homeowners’ association.
Real estate websites show townhomes in the community are valued at just under $1 million.
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Documents reviewed by Fox News Digital show the dispute dates back at least three years. In May 2023, the HOA notified one homeowner that sports flags were prohibited while stating that “the American flag is the only approved flag to be hung on and within common property.”
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By May 2026, however, the HOA issued Amy and Christopher Cooke a violation notice alleging the American flag mounted outside their home violated the association’s flag policy and directing them to remove the flag mount within 15 days or face enforcement action.
Neighbor Terri Collins also received a violation notice over the American flag displayed outside her home and said she’s prepared to fight the HOA alongside the Cookes.
“The journey has been long and hard, and we are ready to put an end to it once and for all,” Collins told Fox News Digital.
Amy Cooke told Fox News Digital the controversy began after another resident attempted to fly a San Diego Padres flag, prompting the HOA to revisit its flag rules.
“Both American flags had been flying around here for decades without issue,” Cooke said. “The fact is it’s about the American flag, distinctly.”
Cooke said she laughed when she first received notice that the HOA considered her American flag to be in violation.
“My first reaction was, ‘No,'” she said. “‘Wait a minute, this isn’t legal.'”
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According to Cooke, the flag has flown from her garage door frame for more than 20 years in honor of her husband’s grandfather, who was killed in World War II while rescuing fellow sailors. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross and Purple Heart.
Cooke contends the HOA has repeatedly failed to explain why it considers her garage door frame to be a common area rather than an exclusive-use common area under the association’s governing documents.
In a June 19 letter to the HOA obtained by Fox News Digital, the Cookes requested board meeting minutes adopting the flag policy, records supporting the HOA’s interpretation of the property’s common areas and the authority it relied upon in issuing the
