A flag flown by a group of Florida Democrats has created quite a flap. 
 
 The Lake County Democratic Party took down an American flag that displayed President Barack Obama’s face in place of the stars after some local veterans who took umbrage at the banner showed up at the party’s office and demanded its removal. 
 
 The standoff started after local veterans circulated photos of the flag, which flew below a standard Stars and Stripes outside the party’s headquarters in Tavares, about 45 miles northwest of Orlando. 
 
 “It’s absolutely disrespectful,” Jim Bradford, a local veteran who helped to organize the protest, told Fox News. “What really upsets me is that the flag had apparently been flying for months and no one had done anything about it.” 
 
 Flags similar to the Obama flag the veterans objected to are available for about $26 on eBay. 
 
 About a half dozen veterans arrived Tuesday at the party’s headquarters, where they were greeted at the door by Nancy Hurlbert, the county Democratic chair. 
 
 Hurlbert offered to research the matter, but did not immediately agree to take down the flag. 
 
 “You’re in violation of the code,” veteran Donald Van Beck told her in a video of the encounter released by the Orlando Sentinel. 
 
 “And I’m saying I will check it out,” answered Hurlbert, who declined Van Beck’s offer to take down the flag and reminded the veterans they were on private property. 
 
 While federal law encourages respect for the flag and sets forth standards for its use, altering the flag carries no criminal penalties. 
 
 “There’s no question there’s a First Amendment right to alter a flag,” Steven H. Shiffrin, a professor and First Amendment scholar at Cornell Law School, told the Daily News. “But the fact that something’s legal does not make it politically smart.” 
 
 Hurlbert later removed the controversial banner, saying she had researched the matter and took responsibility. 
 
 “We’re proud of our President, and we didn’t realize it was in violation,” she told the Sentinel. 
 
 Lake County may be rough political terrain for President Obama regardless of the flag flareup. Though Obama carried the Sunshine State in the 2008 presidential election, Sen. John McCain, his GOP opponent, won Lake County, with 56% of the vote to 43% for Obama. 

 An American flag with President Obama's image in place of the stars flew over a Florida county's Democrat headquarters long enough to enrage local veterans who called the altered banner "a disgrace." 
 
 Lake County Democratic Party officials took down the flag, which flew just below a standard Old Glory on the flagpole outside headquarters in Tavares following complaints by local veterans. But merely taking it down wasn't enough for several local veterans, who said they fought for the flag Betsy Ross made famous, not one with a politician on it. 
 
 "It's absolutely disrespectful," Jim Bradford, a 71-year-old veteran who participated in the Bay of Pigs Invasion told FoxNews.com. "It's totally ridiculous. To put somebody's picture there, to me, it's a disgrace to do that." 
 
 Bradford, an organizer with the Veterans Memorial at Fountain Park in Leesburg, Fla., snapped photos of the flag and distributed them to fellow veterans and friends. By late afternoon, he and several other veterans delivered a copy of the federal flag code to Nancy Hurlbert, chairwoman of the Lake County Democratic Party. 
 
 "We read that to her, but she would not accept that," Bradford said. "The discussion finally got a little bit heated." 
 
 The flag, which had been flying for several months without complaint and is available online for $12.95, was later removed by Hurlbert. 
 
 Bradford said Hurlbert apologized for the incident, but did not offer any promises that it wouldn't fly again. 
 
 "What really upsets me is that the flag had apparently been flying for months and no one had done anything about it," Bradford said. "I've got no hard feelings toward [Hurlbert], but people will be driving by there to make sure it doesn't go up again." 
 
 Hurlbert said Tuesday's incident was the first time anyone had complained about the flag, which she received as a gift two months ago. 
 
 "It leads me to believe that it's not about the flag," she told FoxNews.com. "Certain elements cannot accept Barack Obama as president." 
 
 Hurlbert said she intends to contact an attorney regarding the matter and remained non-committal as to whether she'll fly the flag again. 
 
 "I won't say no and I won't say yes," she said. "We want to find out what our legal rights are." 
 
 Jenn Meale, communications director for Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, referred FoxNews.com to state laws that pertain to the use of flags on public lands and property when asked for clarification as to whether Hurlbert could face any penalties. 
 
 Statute 256.05, which covers improper use of state or United States flag, or other symbol of authority, reads: "No person shall, in any manner, for exhibition or display: 
 
 "(1) Place or cause to be placed any word, figure, mark, picture, design, drawing or advertisement of any nature upon any flag, standard, color, ensign or shield of the United States or of this state, or authorized by any law of the United States or this state; or 
 
 "(2) Expose to public view any such flag, standard, color, ensign or shield upon which shall have been printed, painted or otherwise produced, or to which shall have been attached, appended, affixed or annexed any such word, figure, mark, picture, design, drawing or advertisement." 
 
 Meanwhile, Jay Agg, communications director for AMVETS, told FoxNews.com that the American flag should never be altered. 
 
 "While we are pleased the flag in question has since been removed from public display, the reported fact that it had flown for months without protest is a clear indication that we have much work to do in educating the public of the importance of protecting our flag," Agg wrote in an email. "This issue is especially important to AMVETS' members, the men and women who have proudly worn our nation's uniform and served under her flag." 
 
 The final insult to veterans? The flag is made in China.
– O say can you see ... Barack Obama? A local Florida Democratic Party office has removed an American flag that replaced Old Glory's stars with President Obama's face after a handful of angry veterans turned up to call it disrespectful. “What really upsets me is that the flag had apparently been flying for months and no one had done anything about it," vet Jim Bradford told Fox News. The flag had been flying beneath a standard flag outside the offices of the Lake County Democratic Party northwest of Orlando. The flag was removed later in the day. "We're proud of our president, and we didn't realize it was in violation," said a spokeswoman. In fact, while federal law encourages respect for the stars and stripes, and sets standards for use of the flag, altering the flag doesn't carry any criminal penalties, notes the New York Daily News—though Fox News has a different interpretation of Florida laws. Similar flags can be purchased on eBay.