The display of an American flag upside down at a Somali Independence Day event in Minnesota has sparked both outrage and apologies in recent days.
A video from the event shows the flag flying upside down as roughly 500 people attended the festivities at Lake George Park Pavilion. The St. Cloud Police Department received a call at 5:29 p.m. on July 3, alerting them to the situation.
The officer on duty reportedly corrected the flag without objection, and the organizers of the event indicated that the flag being flown upside down was not intentional. However, some in the community are skeptical about this claim.
St. Cloud City Councilman Scott Brodeen expressed his disgust at the situation and questioned how it went unnoticed by the event organizers and local politicians. Brodeen claimed that a Facebook friend messaged him about the issue on July 3, and by the time he arrived at the event, the flag had been fixed.
The incident gained significant traction on social media, with some users expressing outrage directed towards the sponsors of the event, including U.S. Bank. The flag was upside down for long enough to be captured in a viral video posted on Facebook.
Apologies from those involved have started to surface, with St. Cloud Mayor Jake Anderson stating that the city takes the proper display of the American flag seriously and understands its significance in the community.
The mayor added that the event organizer has apologized for the mistake and that the city has been working with the organizer for over 11 years, with this incident being an isolated mistake. The executive director of the event organizer, Internal Housing Assistant, also apologized and took full responsibility for the incident.
Despite the apologies, some community members continue to express their frustration and feel that the incident warrants further investigation.
Sauk Rapids resident Kathy Neumeister, whose husband is a 36-year military veteran, rushed down to the event after seeing the viral video and was outraged when she saw the flag upside down for herself. She questioned how the incident was not noticed by anyone at the event, including the local politicians and event organizers.
Neumeister stated that she was told by various attendees that no one realized the flag was upside down, and when she called the mayor's office, a spokesperson told her that it's possible a city staffer "made a mistake."
Neumeister expressed her skepticism about the explanation and stated that she doesn't believe that a city staffer could not know how to properly display the American flag.
The incident has sparked a heated debate about the importance of properly displaying the American flag, particularly in a community with a strong military presence and a significant Somali immigrant population.
