Were all flags confiscated, or just the ones attached to staffs?
Those flags in the "bin" were all smaller than a foot tall. Of course they had sticks on them, but that wasn't why they were contraband. They weren't concerned for the safety of walkers. They didn't want to politicize the walk. It's a sad day when an American flag is considered "political." Large groups were given signs on 8 foot poles, so that their group's walkers could locate them in the crowd. And people had umbrellas (3 foot long potential "spears") And kids rode their scooters, running into people's heels ahead of them. It was PC BS, plain and simple.