Two citizens who kneeled during the Pledge of Allegiance at a Buckingham County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday were called into question by supervisors.

Vice Chair Danny Allen addressed Marie Flowers, who lives in the third district, about her decision to kneel during the Pledge of Allegiance held at the beginning of the meeting.

“I respect that flag a whole lot,” Allen said during the meeting. “What did you mean by kneeling down?”

“I do too,” Flowers said about respect for the U.S. flag.

“It was just the fashion of the day,” Flowers said about the decision to kneel.

Kneeling during the Pledge of Allegiance or the National Anthem has created national conversation as professional athletes in the National Football League (NFL), particularly former Quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, Colin Kaepernick, began heading the process to bring awareness to police violence that affects African-Americans.

District Two Supervisor Donnie Bryan also spoke during the conversation, saying: “If you are unhappy in the United States, move,” according to a transcript provided by Buckingham County administration.

Following the meeting, in the parking lot of the county administrative building, District Five resident Heidi Dhivya Berthoud and Bryan later debated the protest.

Berthoud said while in the parking lot outside of the administration building she had approached Bryan to thank him for questioning the lack of a follow up of a public hearing for a proposed campground near the town of Dillwyn, which was approved during the Tuesday meeting.

Berthoud said Bryan turned around and confronted her in the parking lot.

He told Berthoud to “respect the flag,” and made comments even as he entered his vehicle and left the parking lot.

Berthoud said following the encounter that her reason to kneel was to protest police violence that targets African-Americans and minorities. She said she did not plan to kneel initially, but decided to do so once the pledge began. She said Flowers kneeled with her afterward.

“I feel like if I didn’t do it, I would be a hypocrite and letting down so many people that are treated horribly in this country,” Berthoud said in a phone interview after the meeting.

She said she plans to continue to kneel during the Pledge of Allegiance.

Berthoud said she took issue with how members of the board had addressed Flowers following her kneeling, and compared their action with the reaction from the board.

“Think about it. We were kneeling in silence and they were yelling at us from the stage,” Berthoud said.

Allen said in a phone interview after the meeting that he did not take issue with the protest as much as the timing of the protest.

“I don’t think it’s the time when you’re doing the Pledge of Allegiance for the flag is the time to protest against anything,” Allen said. “If they want to protest, that’s fine. I have no problem with protests. There’s a time and place for everything. When we’re pledging allegiance to the flag would not be the time.”

Flowers, in a phone interview after the meeting, said the decision for her to kneel was out of impulse. She noted that she received similar confrontations attending a Women’s Club meeting after the board of supervisors meeting.

“It was an impulse, and it was very patriotic of Mr. Allen to cite an old woman for doing that. Ordinarily I would think they might have thought I dropped my purse.”

She said her purpose for kneeling was to bring awareness to police violence and oppression of the poor.

“The next time I do it, it’s going to be with purpose,” Flowers said. “My heart is with the poor. The poor have no power.”

Bryan has been reached for comment and County Administrator Rebecca Carter declined to place email information on the record.