Recently, he said, the homeowners association wrote to him, saying the flag mailbox violated the community covenant and had to go. If he did nothing, the letter said, the HOA would fine him and could ultimately place a lien on his home.

This is why I would NEVER live in an HOA...They have WAAY too much power, and its usually a retired old bity that does shit like this because they have nothing else better to do.

I would mail her ass an American flag every week, then put a bumper sticker on her car...etc...etc...