Confederate flag license plates likely to be recalled in Maryland
BALTIMORE -- Maryland will likely recall license plates with images of the Confederate flag this fall, now that a federal judge has agreed to lift a 1997 injunction that prevented the state from taking the plates out of circulation.
U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis issued an order Thursday that allows Attorney General Brian Fosh to lift the injunction. The order goes into effect Nov. 17.
Frosh says Maryland tried to recall the specialty tags in the 1990s, but a federal judge at the time ruled license plates were protected under the First Amendment.
The Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of a state to limit what is available on license plates in a 5-4 decision after the Texas Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans challenged the state of Texas for discontinuing license plates with the Confederate flag on it.
Virginia has also removed the option to purchase Confederate flag license plates.
Owners of the Confederate plates will be contacted by the Motor Vehicle Administration about the recall.
In other recent news about the Confederate flag, 15 supporters of the Confederate flag were arrested on terrorism charges this month.
The charges are related to a July 25 incident in which members of a group called Respect the Flag drove a convoy of vehicles displaying Confederate flags through a neighborhood in Douglasville, Georgia. The group became involved in an altercation with residents outside a home where a children's birthday party was taking place.