BISMARCK, N.D. – A proclamation was issued by President Donald Trump to fly United States flags at half-mast on Thursday, Dec. 4 to honor West Virginia Army National Guard Spc. Sarah Beckstrom who died after a shooting in Washington, D.C. a week earlier. However, the proclamation caught most of Devils Lake unaware as it was issued on the same day and only until sunset.
Communications Director Mike Nowatzki of Gov. Kelly Armstrong’s office received the notice at 10:45 a.m. Thursday and in accordance with the proclamation, all government agencies in the state of North Dakota were directed to fly the United States and North Dakota flags at half-mast until sunset on Dec. 4, and North Dakotans were also encouraged to do the same at their homes and businesses, as a mark of respect for the slain National Guard member. “We sent it out as soon as I saw it,” he said. “Our policy is that we follow presidential proclamations when it comes to flag directives.”
Nowatzki said he has several email lists of people and organizations across the state who are to be notified when a flag directive has been issued, and the notices are also posted on the governor’s Facebook page. He acknowledged that the proclamation seemed last-minute. “It is unusual for a flag directive to be only on the day on which it is issued,” he said. “It’s probably the first time I’ve seen it done like that.”
The late notice seemed to affect the response of most agencies and businesses in Devils Lake. A visual check of local government agencies during the day on Dec. 4., such as the U.S. Post Office, Devils Lake City Hall and the Lake Region Law Enforcement Center, as well as local businesses and clubs with flagpoles, showed most flags at full mast. The only public institution seen by this reporter to have observed the proclamation was Central Middle School.
By contrast, when Charlie Kirk was killed in a targeted attack on Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University, a proclamation was posted on the official White House website the same day for U.S. flags to be flown at half-mast until sunset on Sept 14. Kirk was co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA who was a close ally of Trump.
Beckstrom, age 20, died from injuries sustained in a shooting attack Nov. 26 in Washington, D.C., that also seriously wounded a second National Guard member.
The proclamation posted on the White House website Dec. 4 reads, “As a mark of respect for the memory of (Spc.) Sarah Beckstrom … by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, Dec. 4, 2025.”
The proclamation also directed that the flag be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all U.S. embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.
