Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis is refusing to take down a giant American flag over his Gander RV business in Statesville, North Carolina, despite that the city has demanded the flag be eliminated and has taken him to court to force him to obey.
Lemonis is refusing to remove the 40-by-80-foot flag even though the city said it is too large and violates a city ordinance.
But Lemonis says he won’t do it. “There is no way that flag is coming down,” he said.
Lemonis told fans that the city has filed a lawsuit against him.
There is no way that flag is coming down. @cityofsvl @charlotteobserver @usatoday https://t.co/kNxvekuXXG pic.twitter.com/i3vG5qBg77
— Marcus Lemonis (@marcuslemonis) May 18, 2019
The city also began charging the CEO a fine of $50 per day until or unless he removes the flag.
The city claims it won’t allow a flag that size within 100 feet of the highway. The city also says that it will not allow flags larger than 25 by 40 feet.
The city also claims that the fine is retroactive to October 15 and that Lemonis owes the city $11,000.
Lemonis, though, is a millionaire and he says he does not care what the city tries to fine him.
“I don’t care if it goes to $500 a day. It’s not coming down,” Lemonis said.
“My family has been car dealers, had been car dealers since the 1960s, and our key trademark was always flying our flag in our dealership in south Florida,” Lemonis told the media. “My family is largely immigrants of the country.”
Lemonis launched a petition to find people who agree with him that the flag should stay. It has already gained more than 118,000 signatures.
“Many cities like Statesville have requested that Camping World and Gander Outdoors take down their American Flags. WE WON’T DO IT! Stand with us,” the petition says.
“This is about more than just the flag. This is about our Veterans, Military, and the men and women that have sacrificed for this great country. They are the reason we fly the flag and they are the reason we will NOT take it down!” the petition added.
Lemonis also notes that the ity can shove its rules because HE owns the property. “The property that’s there belongs to us, we pay taxes and the size of the flag isn’t hurting anybody,” Lemonis said.
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