Marvin Peavy won his fight with Walton County over the Trump banners on his Seagrove Beach home. On March 5, 2025, a First Judicial Circuit Court judge reversed the county code magistrate’s ruling against him, barred any past or future fines tied to the sign ordinance, and ordered the county to pay Peavy $42,000 in legal fees within ten days.1Northwest Florida Daily News. Walton County To Pay $42K in Free Speech Case Over Trump Banners
The Property and the Banners
Peavy, a Georgia real estate developer, owns a nearly 7,000-square-foot home valued at about $4.4 million on Walton County Highway 30A, just east of Seaside. He splits his time between Georgia and Florida and holds the property through Parked Properties, GA, LLC, the named plaintiff in the litigation.2Northwest Florida Daily News. Trump Won Banner 30A: Counsel Says Walton Codes Suppress Too Much Speech3Walton County Board of County Commissioners. Board of County Commissioners Meeting Minutes
He began hanging political banners in 2020. In March 2021, he put up a 30-foot “Trump Won” banner reflecting his belief that Trump had won the 2020 election.4Northwest Florida Daily News. Trump Won Banner 30A Home Gets Support From Local Republicans Over the years he added more than 30 different banners, including “Let’s Go Brandon,” “Herschel 2022,” “You Missed Trump 2024,” and “Who’s Your Daddy?”5MyPanhandle. Viral 30A Trump Banner Homeowner Wins Lawsuit Against Walton County
How the Fines Started
A code complaint reached the county in June 2021. By July, Walton County notified Peavy that his banner violated the Walton County Road 30A Scenic Corridor Overlay district, which prohibits “streamers, feather flags, pennants, ribbons, spinners and other similar devices” in the scenic zone.6Northwest Florida Daily News. Trump Banner Code Violation Case Proceeds in Walton County
In mid-October 2021, Code Compliance Magistrate Hayward Dykes found Peavy in violation and gave him until October 25 to take the banner down or face $50 a day in fines. Peavy refused and instead added a “Let’s Go Brandon” banner. At a November 17, 2021 hearing, Dykes ordered both banners removed and assessed $1,269, covering 23 days of fines plus a $119 administrative fee, with the daily fine to continue accruing.7Northwest Florida Daily News. Walton County Fight To Remove Trump Won Banner Headed to Circuit Court
The county code allowed a political banner exemption during election years but permitted fines to resume 15 days after an election. By November 2024, Peavy had accumulated roughly $63,000 in unpaid fines. He never paid any of them.8WJHG. Trump Banner House Wins Lawsuit, Walton County To Pay Over $40K
The Arguments Peavy Made
Peavy filed his circuit court appeal on November 19, 2021, two days after the magistrate’s final order.9Yahoo News. Lets Go Brandon Banners Remain Hanging His attorney, William R. Sickler of the Tallahassee firm Guilday Law, built the challenge on three arguments.
The first was a facial First Amendment challenge. Sickler argued the sign ordinance “suppresses too much speech” by prohibiting “virtually every type of sign” within the 30A scenic corridor. He relied on the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in Reed v. Town of Gilbert, which held that sign codes drawing distinctions based on content are presumptively unconstitutional and must survive strict scrutiny. He also cited a 1994 Supreme Court decision affirming homeowners’ right to display political signs.6Northwest Florida Daily News. Trump Banner Code Violation Case Proceeds in Walton County
The second was that the county’s complaint-driven enforcement was not content-neutral. Sickler contended the original complaint stemmed from disagreement with the pro-Trump message rather than any neutral concern about signage.2Northwest Florida Daily News. Trump Won Banner 30A: Counsel Says Walton Codes Suppress Too Much Speech
The third was due process. Sickler’s brief alleged the county mailed hearing notices only to the Seagrove Beach property, despite having Peavy’s Georgia contact information on file, and failed to post notice at a second location as local code required.2Northwest Florida Daily News. Trump Won Banner 30A: Counsel Says Walton Codes Suppress Too Much Speech
The March 2025 Ruling
The case sat in circuit court for more than three years. Peavy told reporters in late 2024 that the courts were “backed up” and no ruling had come.10WJHG. Viral 30A House Reveals New Banner After Trump’s Victory In December 2024, the Walton County Board of County Commissioners held closed executive sessions on the litigation.3Walton County Board of County Commissioners. Board of County Commissioners Meeting Minutes
On March 5, 2025, First Judicial Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Lewis ruled for Peavy. Lewis reversed the magistrate’s decision and held that Peavy had not violated the Walton County Land Development Code. The order stated that “no fines or liens shall be assessed, asserted, collected or established” against Peavy or his property in connection with the sign ordinance, then or in the future. Lewis ordered the county to pay $42,000 within ten days to cover Peavy’s legal fees. Because Peavy had never paid any of the accumulated fines, there was nothing to refund.1Northwest Florida Daily News. Walton County To Pay $42K in Free Speech Case Over Trump Banners5MyPanhandle. Viral 30A Trump Banner Homeowner Wins Lawsuit Against Walton County
The Board of County Commissioners, which by then included three newly elected members, voted to end the litigation by paying the legal bill. Public Information Officer Ron Kelley said the board “did not have comments and did not plan to release comments any time soon.”11Mid Bay News. Trump House on 30A Collects Legal Fees From Walton County After 4-Year Fight No appeal was filed. The ruling reversed the specific enforcement against Peavy, and no changes to the county’s sign ordinance itself have been publicly reported.
What Has Happened Since
Peavy kept hanging banners. He announced new signs the Saturday after the ruling to celebrate the win.5MyPanhandle. Viral 30A Trump Banner Homeowner Wins Lawsuit Against Walton County By July 2025, he had debuted a new banner he said cost $2,700, with displays including “Daddy Trump,” “Welcome to the Gulf of America,” and “Trump 2028.”12The New York Times. Trump Signs Florida In September 2025, he added a banner honoring the late Charlie Kirk, saying it would stay up indefinitely.13WJHG. Charlie Kirk Banner Is Displayed at Viral 30A Trump House Walton County has not pursued further enforcement.