Man arrested while trying to take down Confederate flag along I-85, deputies say

SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – A Georgia man was arrested Saturday night while reportedly attempting to take down a large Confederate flag along Interstate 85.

According to a report from the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were called to the property on Teaberry Road for a report of a trespasser.

The report said that 23-year-old James Daniel Blitch, of Atlanta, admitted to the responding deputy that he disagreed with the Confederate flag and wanted to lower it.

No trespassing signs were posted on the fence where Blitch climbed a tree to get over the fence, the report said.

Blitch told the deputy that he drove from Atlanta to lower the flag and was planning to return to Atlanta.

The deputy found Blitch with a Dremel power tool and drill bits, the report stated.

Blitch was arrested and charged with trespass into an enclosed place. He is being held in the Spartanburg County Detention Center on a $465 bond.

The Confederate flag at that location flies atop a 120-foot pole which has been the subject of controversy.

Spartanburg County issued a violation notice in October 2022 that the flagpole’s property lacks a “principal use” and that the property’s owner would required to get a permit or remove the pole.

The county’s zoning appeals board later sided with the property owner and overturned the violation in January 2023.

A circuit court judge later overturned the board’s decision in February 2024 and ruled that the original notice of violation was correct.

An appeal of that ruling is still pending, according to court records.

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