Mississippi mayor defies Trump and refuses to lower flag for Dolly Parton, saying honour should be 'reserved' for fallen heroes
Bryan Seaver, Dolly Parton's nephew and head of security who announced her death on Tuesday, was seen overseeing arrangements as police ringed Woodlawn Memorial Park in Nashville.Dolly Parton will be interred beside Carl Dean in a bronze-panelled tomb depicting a Tennessee mountain landscape, as the state's governor moves to rename Nashville International Airport in her honour.
Ken Adams, mayor of Olive Branch, Mississippi, publicly broke ranks with President Trump and state Governor Tate Reeves by refusing to fly the American flag at half-staff for Dolly Parton, who died Tuesday aged 80 after a brief cancer battle. Adams wrote on the city's Facebook page that the gesture should be "reserved for our military heroes, fallen first responders, presidents and other major national leaders." He stressed his decision was not about disrespecting Parton but about protecting the flag's meaning, arguing home rule gives mayors broad discretion to defy presidential directives. Trump and Reeves had each issued orders calling for flags to remain at half-staff throughout the week in Parton's honour.
Adams called Parton a "great person" who "brought happiness to millions" but said lowering the flag for every beloved figure would "lessen the meaning of the gesture."
Parton's loved ones gathered Friday at Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Nashville, where she is to be buried alongside her husband Carl Dean at an intimate private service.
