Georgia man tries to lower huge Confederate flag on SC interstate, gets arrested, cops say

A 22-year-old Atlanta man was charged with trespassing after he allegedly climbed over a fence and attempted to take down a huge Confederate flag beside Interstate 85 in Chesnee.

James Daniel Blitch was charged with trespassing, spent a night in the Spartanburg County Detention and posted a $465 bond on Sunday.

The flag — measuring 30 feet by 20 feet and sitting atop a 120-foot pole — has been the subject of controversy since it was erected in 2022 on land owned by the Adam Washington Ballenger Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp No. 68. To view a video of the flag being raised in 2022, look below.

Ballenger, a Spartanburg native born in 1844, served in the Civil War, eventually earning the rank of lieutenant.

The dispute over the flag began in October 2022 when Spartanburg County issued a violation notice , saying the property owner needed a permit or had to remove the pole.

The county’s zoning appeals board overturned the violation and the a circuit court judge found in favor of the county earlier this year.

An appeal is pending.

On Friday, someone vandalized the flagpole, according to a Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office incident report.

The incident report says Robert Merting told deputies the lock box on the flag pole was damaged. Metal shavings were seen at the base. Merting estimated the damage would cost $1,000 to $2,000 to repair.

Merting said about a year before someone vandalized the pole with spray paint.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans chapter has cameras surrounding the pole, Merting said.

A neighbor said she saw people with flashlights and when she went down to the site they jumped on what sounded like an ATV and took off.

Then on Saturday, officers were called to the property and found a man there who said he wanted to lower the flag because he didn’t agree with it, the incident report said.

The man had a Dremel and drill bits with him and said he got over the fence by climbing a nearby tree. The man denied being at the property on Friday.

Blitch could not be reached for comment.