Battle Flag Fanatic Is Now Behind Bars
Inmate's Confederate collection now on its own
JULY 17--But who will care for all those Confederate flags?
The North Carolina man who responded to the South Carolina church massacre by further covering his property in the rebel flag was arrested and 
jailed this week on a probation violation charge, records show.
Edward Lee West, 69, is locked up in the Nash County jail in advance of an August 5 court appearance. Seen in the adjacent mug shot, West was collared Wednesday afternoon.
According to court records, a judge issued an arrest warrant for West after he failed to show up last week for a court hearing on the probation violation charge. West, whose rap sheet is brimming with weapons-related charges, is serving two years probation for a misdemeanor conviction earlier this year for “Assault Pointing Gun.”
The nature of West’s alleged probation violation is unclear. If found guilty, he could face prison time or an extended term of supervision.
West lives in Rocky Mount, a predominantly African-American city about 60 miles east of Raleigh. As seen below, West’s home is a neighborhood eyesore, a walled-in property ringed by barbed wire and surrounded by an array of Confederate flags (which have grown in number since last month’s racially motivated killings at Charleston’s Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church).
With West behind bars, his flag collection now waves unprotected across his ramshackle compound, which is pictured below.
