WCPS employee: Request to take Trump flag off truck violated right to free speech

Brandon Brock was not upset that he was asked to remove the flag on the back of his truck because of the message it represented.

“Trump 2020” is what he believes in — supporting the president’s re-election and his administration — but he did not put that flag on his truck to defy anyone or to shake things up.

What mattered more, the 24-year-old Pikeville resident said, is that being asked to pull the flag off his personal vehicle, which was parked in the Wayne County Public Schools Maintenance Department parking lot, violated his right to express himself — just like any other person who supports a cause, a candidate or a point of view.

Brock, who, after hours, is taking a welding class, made the flag mount for his truck — and was proud of it.

So because he already had a Trump flag, he decided to put it up.

He drove his truck to his full-time job with the school district Thursday, with the flag flying on the back.

When he arrived, he went to punch in. But before he did, he said he was confronted by a co-worker who he said “started screaming” at him.

Unsure what the fuss was about, Brock followed the advice of another co-worker, got into his truck, pulled it back into the employee parking lot and went about starting work.

That is when his supervisor, David Lassiter, asked to speak to him.

“My boss pulls me aside and tells me I have to take my flag down,” Brock said.

He challenged the order, advising Lassiter that he did not think it was fair that he was being asked to remove a flag that was on his personal vehicle.

“I wasn’t driving it to schools. It was just sitting in the parking lot,” he said. “I drive it to my workplace, and that is it.”

But because his boss asked him to take the flag down, he did.

And when he walked by his co-worker, he said, “Are you happy now?”

That is when, he said, the man said, “I am,” started clapping and confronted him, raising a single fist skyward.

“He walks toward me and comes to me in a confrontational manner. He was three inches from my nose,” Brock said. “I am not one to be offended much. The thing that got me was when he threw up his fist and got in my face. I just did not think there was a need for that. It is what really upset me.”

After the encounter with his co-worker, Brock went to Central Office, where he said he spoke with Interim Superintendent Dr. James Merrill and assistant superintendent Tim Harrell, who oversees maintenance and facilities.

Both, he said, were very honest, respectful and professional.

“They did not know if there was a policy saying you could or couldn’t (have a flag or other expression like it) on your personal vehicle,” Brock said. “They said they would look into it right away.”

Both men said they had not had a question like this before.

Brock said he decided to confirm that the incident took place not just because of what transpired, but because of the importance of the principle he feels he is fighting for.

“I believe it is my right as an individual to have anything I want on my personal vehicle that represents my personal beliefs,” he said.

Brock said he sees no difference between his flag and anyone else’s bumper or window sticker.

“That is just my way of expressing my beliefs or my point of view,” he said. “Other people have teams they support, a candidate or other thing they believe in. It is the same thing. I just support my president.”

Brock said his problem with being asked to remove the flag has nothing to do with the subject emblazoned on it. He said he understands that others might not agree with him about the candidate he chooses to support, and he is OK with that.

“If (my co-worker) had another view, if he wore a T-shirt supporting the other side, I wouldn’t say anything. That’s his right, and I respect that,” he said.

But the third-generation firefighter — Brock used to serve with the Little River Volunteer Fire Department — said he felt it was important to speak up. It is about the First Amendment and the right to free speech, he said.

“We need to talk about stuff like this,” he said. “Everybody should respect anyone’s right to say what they believe.”

The New Old North reached out to WCPS to determine whether or not a policy exists that justified Lassiter’s request for Brock to take down his flag. We did not receive a response.