The CEO of Camping World responded to the barrage of lawsuits from city governments to stop him from flying giant American flags at his business locations, reiterating his stance that the flag is “never coming down.”
Local officials have been pressuring CEO Mark Lemonis for quite some time because of ordinances that prohibit him from flying the giant flags at his business locations, Fox 40 reported Friday.
“In April 2024, the Camping World location in San Joaquin County was forced to remove the flag for alleged safety reasons and a lack of permits,” the outlet said. “At the time, Lemonis told FOX40 that if it were a marketing flag on the pole, he might take it down while the business works out the permitting issues with the county, but the American flag stays, no matter what the county says.”
A Camping World location in North Carolina shut down in March over similar issues, and a lawsuit was filed against Lemonis. The news came after another lawsuit was filed in Tennessee.
However, Lemonis stated in a Fox News video posted Wednesday, “The flag? It’s never coming down.” He detailed the legal battle he is fighting, then said the reason he will never take the flags down is because “it’s my love letter as an immigrant to this country who, quite frankly, was given a gift.”
“I did it legally, I went through the process. I worked my ass off trying to figure out how to make a living. That flag is my appreciation, my gratefulness to this country for allowing me to do that,” he concluded:
Social media users were quick to respond to the video, one person writing, “Give this man all the business.”
“Thank you for standing up for our flag,” another person commented, while someone else said, “I LOVE those flags!!! Thank you Camping World for brightening my day every time I drive past!!!”
When speaking of the flags in August 2024, Lemonis, who is an immigrant from Lebanon, explained, “It’s symbolism about how we feel about this country. We have a lot of veterans who work for us, and a lot of veterans who shop with us.”
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