Polk County Oath Keepers Protest Treatment of Flag by Lake Hamilton Employee

Lori DeMouth,a member of the Polk County Oath Keepers, waves flags during a demonstration in Lake Hamilton on Monday.

LAKE HAMILTON | With American flags in tow, about 10 members of the Polk County Oath Keepers planted themselves in camping chairs and pickup beds outside Town Hall on Monday morning.

They said they were there to protect the constitutional right of the American people and the integrity of the American flag the flag Public Works employee J.D. Johnson was found lying on in the town's maintenance barn as he worked on a lawn mower in late July.

Mayor Marlene Wagner suspended Johnson for two weeks without pay over the incident.

"We're not sure that's enough," Oath Keeper member John Ash said. He and his fellow Oath Keepers said they want to see Johnson fired.

They also would like a public apology.

At a special Town Council meeting Sept. 10, when Johnson faced a 120-day performance evaluation mandated after the mayor attempted to demote him in April, Johnson said he was sorry for using the flag as a dropcloth. He said if he could do it over, he would not have used the flag that way.

In a decision unrelated to Johnson's suspension, which ends Sept. 18, the council voted 3-2 to demote him from his supervisory position but keep his pay at the same rate of $21 per hour.

The demotion, however, did not put the flag issue to bed.

At the meeting, Council Chairman Ralph Harris argued Johnson's suspension was a violation of his constitutional right to free speech.

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Polk County Oath Keepers Protest Treatment of Flag by Lake Hamilton Employee