In San Francisco, Controversial Flags Have Had Their Ups and Downs

The inauguration of Mayor Daniel Lurie of San Francisco on Wednesday in the plaza outside City Hall had it all: prominent speakers, a packed audience, and performers ranging from Chinese lion dancers to the Gay Men’s Chorus.

But eagle-eyed observers might have noticed something missing. Or, really, 18 things missing. Two rows of nine historic banners, known as the Pavilion of American Flags, were gone from the plaza. In their place were 18 matching light-blue flags with the city seal.

A new day in San Francisco? Nope. Not on the flag front, anyway. By Friday morning, the old ones were back, billowing in the breeze.

The city’s flag collection drew attention in May when a San Francisco resident raised concerns that the quintessentially liberal city was flying the “Appeal to Heaven” flag, which had also been spotted outside Justice Samuel A. Alito’s New Jersey vacation home.

Originally flown by George Washington’s ships in the Revolutionary War as a symbol of rebellion against the British, the white flag with a green pine tree has since become associated with the “Stop the Steal” movement. Some rioters carried it as they stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, seeking to stop Joseph R. Biden Jr. from being certified as the winner of the presidential election.

Critics said Justice Alito should recuse himself from cases related to the Jan. 6 attack for displaying the flag, but he did not, saying his wife was the one responsible for flying it.