A businessman in suburban Detroit is under fire from unhappy neighbours after hanging a Confederate flag and nooses at his two properties in the area . Robert Tomanovich , who owns Robert 's Discount Tree Service in Livonia , Michigan , first hung a noose from a tree and a Confederate flag , printed with the slogan ' I ai n't coming down , ' on a fence at his home . When neighbours complained , a second noose appeared on a tree outside his tree-cutting business which operates at a second property on the same street . Robert Tomanovich is under fire from unhappy neighbours in Livonia , a suburb of Detroit , after he hung a Confederate flag and nooses at his two properties in the area . Tomanovich first hung a noose from a tree and a Confederate flag , printed with the slogan ' I ai n't coming down , ' on a fence at his Michigan home . Tomanovich , 55 , has denied his actions are racist , although an employee has admitted that the second noose was a deliberate move to antagonise locals . 'One hundred fifty years after Abraham Lincoln 's death , we are still going through these kind of atrocities . A hangman 's noose and a Confederate flag ? ' neighbor Mary Greer toldWXYZ . Another local complained that at least one of the nooses was hung from a tree small enough for a young child to climb . When the local TV network attempted to speak to Tomanovich on Friday he refused , although his wife Lindy tried to explain the noose as a tribute to a dead friend . 'Robert has a friend that died in that way ( hanging himself ) , and that 's in memory of his friend , ' she told WXYZ . 'There 's no crime in hanging a noose . ' An unnamed employee was qick to take credit for the noose at Tomanovich 's business . 'Screw 'em ... We 're gon na put more up , ' he said . Tomanovich , 55 , has denied his actions are racist and said he simply liked the colors of the Confederate flag , but has since taken it down . Wife Lindy told local media that the noose was a tribute to a friend of her husband who had hung himself . On Monday , Tomanovich spoke to the Daily News and said accusations of racism were 'stupid . ' ' I know black guys , I have black friends . We 're all laughing at this stupidity . Do you know how many white guys were hung back in the day ? This is n't racist . But all of a sudden it 's out of control . ' He said he had put up the Confederate flag because ' I like the colors ' . Tomanovich also said he has since taken down the nooses and flags , but refused to apologize . ' I do n't need to defend this to nobody . My business is doing very well , ' he said . ' I only want this story to get bigger . I want people to know I 'm not a racist . ' A second noose was hung on a tree outside Robert 's Discount Tree Service in Livonia , Michigan , after neighbours complained about the first one . An unnamed employee took credit for the noose at Tomanovich 's business said , 'Screw 'em ... We 're gon na put more up '
rod Tomanovich first hung a flag and a Confederate flag , printed with the words ' I ai n't coming down , ' on a fence at his Michigan home . Neighbours complained so an employee of Tomanovich 's hung a second noose outside his tree - cutting business . he said he simply painted the colors of the flag and his wife claimed the noose was a tribute to a dead friend of her husband . He has since taken down the nooses and flags , but refused to apologize .