A city councilmember in Utah says she won’t remove an LGBTQ+ pride flag she displays in defiance of the state’s ban despite an inquiry by auditors, insisting she’s protected by the First Amendment.
Centerville City Councilmember Cheylynn Hayman started displaying a small rainbow pride flag during sessions in April 2025, shortly after Utah became the first state to ban unsanctioned flags, including pride banners, at schools and government buildings last year. She was notified last month by the Utah State Auditor that multiple complaints had been received regarding her show of support on the city council dais.
“With a few exceptions, the statute prohibits government entities and public-school employees from displaying a flag on government property,” state auditors wrote Hayman and other city officials, including Centerville Mayor Clark Wilkinson.
The May 22 letter notified Hayman of “multiple” alleged violations while seeking a response to the accusations.
“Following review of your response and any other relevant evidence, if the office determines that a government entity or public-school employee has violated the statute, the office will notify the relevant government entity and allow up to 30 days for the entity to cure the violation,” the letter continued.
But Hayman has no intention of complying and plans to keep flying the pride during future council sessions, she told Newsweek on Monday.
“If the state auditor concludes that my city violates the flag-banning law due to my individual display of a pride flag, yes, I will personally initiate a lawsuit against the state of Utah to protect my right to free speech,” Hayman said.
Hayman, who works as an attorney specializing in employment law, claims the law bans only government entities or schools from displaying unauthorized flags on government property, rather than individually elected representatives like herself.
“The [law] prohibits only ‘a government entity’ or ‘an employee of a school district or school within the public education system acting within the employee’s official duties’ from displaying non-authorized flags on government property,” Hayman wrote state auditors on June 4. “I am neither.”
Utah’s flag ban is also clear that “government entity means government entity and not ’employees of a’ government entity,” according to the lawmaker’s four-page response, which also noted Hayman isn’t a municipal employee.
Hayman wrote: “In short, nothing in Section 704 prohibits publicly elected officials, separate and apart from the government entities they represent, from exercising their individual constitutionally protected First Amendment rights on government property, including by displaying pride flags on the city council dais in support of their constituents who are members or supporters of the LGBTQ community. I look forward to your office confirming for the complainant that my individual and personal exercise of my right to display a flag does not constitute a violation of the statute by the Centerville City Council.”
Representative Trevor Lee, a Republican who sponsored Utah’s flag ban, said the law explicitly applies to all local government entities, including city councils.
“Placing a Pride flag on the dais during city council meetings in Centerville is a clear use of government property and authority for a political/symbolic statement exactly the kind of activity the bill was designed to prevent,” Lee told Newsweek in a statement. “Council members do not check their individual rights at the door, but when they act in their official capacity sitting at the dais, during a publicly funded meeting, in a government building they represent the city, not just themselves.”
Lee said the law prohibits municipal entities from displaying any flags other than those specifically authorized, such as the U.S. flag, state flag or military banners.
“This isn’t about stifling personal speech; it’s about preventing elected officials from using taxpayer funded platforms and facilities to promote personal or partisan causes,” Lee said. “For over a year, one council member has used her official position to turn city meetings into a platform for a specific political and cultural agenda. When government officials push ideological symbols on the public’s dime, it undermines trust, divides communities, and signals that only certain viewpoints are officially endorsed.”
Utah became the first state to ban unsanctioned flags at schools and government buildings in late March 2025, with violators facing a potential $500 daily fine. Lawmakers in Idaho and Montana have also passed similar measures regarding flags at public schools and state property, respectively.
State auditors are “correctly reviewing” the complaints against Hayman’s pride flag, Lee said. It is unclear who made the complaints.
“If the council member believes her actions are protected individual speech, she is free to fly the flag at her home, in her yard, or on private property,” Lee said. “But she cannot commandeer the people’s council chambers for it. Attempts to challenge the law in court will test its constitutionality, but the principle is straightforward: government should remain neutral and not play favorites with symbols.”
If state auditors determine that Hayman violated the statute, she’d have 30 days to “cure the violation” or face potential fines.
Rahn Rampton, a spokesman for Utah State Auditor Tina Cannon, confirmed Monday that the office had received complaints regarding the flag but could not provide additional details on the ongoing probe.
Hayman, meanwhile, said she’ll attend Centerville’s next scheduled council meeting remotely later this month, but has no plans of removing her pride flag from future sessions.
“I would if I were there and I do intend to continue to display it at every city council meeting I attend until the law is revoked,” she said. “I hope that it incentivizes the legislature to revisit the wisdom of their legislation, which I think is misguided. I would hope that this effectuates some type of a meaningful change, a positive change. Sometimes small actions make big changes, and I hope that this is one of those circumstances.”
Messages seeking comment from Utah Governor Spencer Cox were not immediately returned on Monday. Cox is one of several Republican governors who have rebranded June from Pride Month to alternative celebrations such as “Fidelity Month” during President Donald Trump’s second term.
Centerville officials have responded to state officials as requested, city manager Brant Hanson told Newsweek.
“At this time, we are respecting the process established under state law and are awaiting the state auditor’s review and determination,” Hanson wrote in an email late Monday. “Until that process is complete, it would be premature for the city to speculate on potential actions or outcomes. The city remains committed to complying with applicable State law and cooperating fully with the State Auditor’s Office.”
Read the full article here
