Trump declines mayor's request to lower flags in honor of Capital Gazette shooting victims


The mayor of Annapolis, Maryland, said on Monday he's "disappointed" that President Trump rejected his request to lower U.S. flags in memory of the five Capital Gazette newspaper employees shot and killed last week.
"Is there a cutoff for tragedy?" Mayor Gavin Buckley asked. "This was an attack on the press. It was an attack on freedom of speech. It's just as important as any other tragedy." After other mass shootings, including the Feb. 14 attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Trump has ordered flags lowered.
Buckley put in his request to the White House over the weekend, and told The Baltimore Sun he wanted to keep national attention on what happened in his town. He also said he was going to lower flags in Annapolis anyway, but his wife urged him not to do it. "At this point in time, it would start to polarize people and I don't want to make people angry," he said. On Friday, Gov. Larry Hogan (R) ordered the Maryland flag lowered in the state until Monday evening.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Trump threatens Brazil with 50% tariffs
Speed Read He accused Brazil's current president of leading a 'witch hunt' against far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro
-
AI scammer fakes Rubio messages to top officials
Speed Read The unknown individual mimicked Rubio in voice and text messages sent to multiple government officials
-
SCOTUS greenlights Trump's federal firings
speed read The Trump administration can conduct mass federal firings without Congress' permission, the Supreme Court ruled
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partners
Speed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin August 1 on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
Elon Musk launching 'America Party'
Speed Read The tech mogul promised to form a new political party if Trump's megabill passed Congress
-
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at US border
Speed Read The president violated federal law by shutting down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, said the ruling
-
Thai court suspends prime minister over leaked call
Speed Read Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended, pending an ethics investigation
-
Senate passes GOP megabill after Alaska side deal
The pivotal yes vote came from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose support was secured following negotiated side deals for her home state Alaska