A major RV dealer has been ordered to remove its giant American flag, but the dealer has ignored the order from California state authorities.
Camping World RV Sales, located in French Camp, California, about 80 miles east of San Francisco, had a giant American flag flying above its dealership until April, when county officials ordered it removed due to concerns about the flagpole.
Camping World’s CEO declared that no matter what the county says, the American flag will stay flying.
San Joaquin County officials translation He said he has concerns about the flagpole’s base and its proximity to the property line and Interstate 5 if the flagpole were to fall.
“The Camping World flagpole was installed without a building permit or plan approval and we are in discussions with Code Enforcement,” the county said in a statement to the media.
Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis on Monday ordered dealerships to return American flags to the top of their flagpoles. Lemonis said Camping World’s flagpoles are securely installed and “deeply rooted in the ground.”
Lemonis noted that Camping World stores have giant American flags hanging in their doors, but that’s not an issue.
“If I felt like I was putting people at risk or causing problems for air traffic, which is a no-no, I’m not going to do it,” Lemonis told KTLX.
“It symbolizes how we feel about this country. We have a lot of veterans who work for us and a lot of veterans who shop at our stores,” Lemonis added.
He declared, “I happen to be an immigrant. I’m grateful to have been given the blessing of coming into this country and becoming a citizen. Immigration has been a part of my life since I was a child in Miami, Florida. My car dealership in Miami had the biggest flagpole in Miami.”
Lemonis acknowledged that the company could have kept the flag down if it was being used for marketing purposes while they worked out a permitting issue with the county. Camping World’s CEO was adamant that the American flag would stay down no matter what the county said.
San Joaquin County officials said Camping World has applied for a building permit for the flagpole and that the application is under review.
This is not the first time Camping World has faced government scrutiny for flying giant American flags.
In May 2019, a Camping World store in Statesville, North Carolina, about 40 miles north of Charlotte, had an American flag deemed too large.
Camping World failed to comply with orders from Statesville officials to take down the flag, and the company was fined $50 a day for the flag violation.
Lemonis said. Fox Business “This flag has been up for a long time and, as I have told the city, it will not be taken down under any circumstances,” the mayor said at the time.
Lemonis’ lawyers declared in their filing that the giant American flag “represents the fundamental values that unite Americans beyond partisan politics: freedom, courage, and equality under the law. … Consistent with this tradition, the United States Supreme Court has long recognized that flying the flag is a form of political expression protected by the First Amendment.”
Statesville lawyer North Carolina Law It declares that restrictions on flag size may be imposed “for the purpose of protecting the public health, safety, and welfare.”
As part of a settlement with the city, Camping World was allowed to continue flying the American flag, but it had to pay more than $14,000 in fines for initially violating city ordinances, plus another $2,000 in legal costs.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censorship and sign up for our newsletter to receive stories like this directly to your inbox. Register here!
