Someone made off with flags, including the American flag, from outside Blount Mansion on Blount Avenue last Sunday, and Knoxville Police are now asking the public to help identify two people connected to the theft. The Knoxville Police Department is circulating images of the pair under case number 26-033153, hoping a tipster recognizes them before the trail goes cold.
The appeal, titled “Can You ID These Two?”, was posted by the Knoxville Police Department - TN and shared through East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers, which notes that anyone named in the post is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. According to the post, police want to speak with the two individuals specifically about the theft of several flags, including the American flag, from outside the historic property on August 30.
Blount Mansion is not just any address. Built in 1792, the home is known as the “Birthplace of Tennessee” because territorial leaders drafted the state's first constitution there in 1796, according to WBIR. The property served as capital of the Southwest Territory in the 1790s and was designated a National Historic Landmark in January 1965 before being added to the National Register of Historic Places the following year, per Wikipedia's entry on the site.
A Landmark Already in the Spotlight
The theft landed at a particularly sensitive moment for the property. Just two days before the flags disappeared, Knoxville officials approved $60,000 in city funding paired with a state grant to reroof Blount Mansion with period-accurate cedar shakes, a project funded through the city's Historic Preservation and Façade Improvement Program, Hoodline reported in its earlier coverage of the roof restoration. The timing puts the theft in sharp contrast with a wave of public investment aimed at preserving the site, which is also marking its 100th anniversary as a museum. Blount Mansion was saved from demolition for a hotel parking lot back in December 1926 by local preservationists and the Daughters of the American Revolution, according to Inside of Knoxville, and it opened afterward as Knoxville's first public museum.
What Charges Could Follow
Under Tennessee law, taking property worth $1,000 or less is typically graded as a Class A misdemeanor, carrying penalties of up to 11 months and 29 days in jail and fines as high as $2,500, according to Justia Law's summary of Tennessee Code § 39-14-103 and § 39-14-105. But because the theft happened at a registered National Historic Landmark, prosecutors could also look to Tennessee Code § 39-14-408, which contains legal protections and penalty enhancements for property offenses at historic sites and can mandate restitution for cleaning or restoring affected property, per Justia Law. It remains an open question whether investigators will pursue those enhanced provisions if suspects are identified and charged.
How to Submit a Tip
Investigators are leaning on East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers, the regional tip network that has become a go-to resource for unresolved property crimes across the area. Tipsters can call 877-363-8847, submit information through the P3 Tips app, or go online at EastTnValleyCrimeStoppers.org, and only tips submitted through Crime Stoppers that lead to an arrest are eligible for a reward of up to $2,000. The organization was established on May 1, 2021, as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit through a joint initiative between the Knoxville Police Department, the Mayor's Office, and Knoxville City Council, and it now serves more than 30 law enforcement agencies across East Tennessee, Hoodline previously reported.
Between its 2021 launch and May of this year, the organization received thousands of anonymous tips that led to 625 arrests, 425 cleared cases, and more than $110,000 in distributed cash rewards, funded entirely through tax-deductible private donations. The flag theft comes as Knoxville has otherwise seen a broadly improving public safety picture: the city recorded a 26 percent decline in homicides in 2025, down to 17 victims, its lowest annual total since 2016, alongside a 27 percent drop in non-fatal shootings, according to Knoxville Police Department data reported by Hoodline. Whether that trend extends to property crimes at sites like Blount Mansion may depend on whether this case gets solved.
