Tailored Jewelry owner wages one-man demonstration with flag

Businessman Ted Sanders continues to wage a one-man campaign against what he considers to be the government’s violation of its citizens’ Fourth Amendment rights.

“It’s kind of an ongoing deal,” says Sanders, who has been flying the American flag upside down at his Tailored Jewelry in Riverside at 715 W. 13th St.

“I’ve had to fly this thing upside down for more than a year,” Sanders says. “It sucks. … The reality is I can’t hardly stand to fly the thing upside down myself.”

It’s Sanders’ response to revelations that the government has been monitoring citizens in various ways.

“Our government is constantly surveilling us,” he says. “To me, that’s just icing on the cake with a whole lot of different things that have been going on with our government.”

The upside down flag is a symbol of distress.

“It’s not about putting the country down. It’s about getting things changed,” Sanders says. “Our Constitution is definitely under stress and needs to be changed. … Get our constitutional rights restored.”

Sanders says he’s not aware that flying the flag upside down has helped or hurt business.

“I’m not using this as any type of sales gimmick or anything else,” he says. “Anybody who is serious about their freedoms … they better pay attention to it.”

Occasionally, Sanders will fly a 13-star flag symbolizing the Revolutionary War era outside his shop as well. He does it to celebrate the birthdays of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

“I never fly that one upside down. Those guys got it right.”

This story was originally published November 25, 2014 at 3:20 PM.