City leaders have sued Lemonis over his refusal to take down the colossal flags
Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis has said he’s been forced to shutter one of his stores in North Carolina amid a heated legal battle about his massive American flags flying at his stores.
Lemonis told WITN this week that he closed the smaller of his two RV dealerships in Greenville on April 18 accusing council members of actively trying to disparage his business for refusing to take down the giant flags.
City leaders in Greenville, North Carolina, voted to take legal action against the flags in March since they violate city ordinances and Lemonis has been hit with $15,000 in fines.
The flags are almost the size of a basketball court, spanning 3200 square feet while the pole it flies from is around 130 feet tall, almost double the current allowance.
“We think the ordinance is wrong,” Lemonis told local radio station WTIB, according to WITN. “They (the council) should probably do a little research on the statutes in the state of North Carolina.”
“I think it’s also wrong council members have been working very actively to disparage my business and on [April 18] I had to consolidate modification of two dealerships in town… Our business which has been unfortunately impacted uniquely in Greenville, North Carolina.”
The national RV dealer has more than 200 locations across the country and is known for proudly flying large “Old Glory” flags at its stores. Camping World has also been sued by other municipalities across the country over the size of the American flags it flies at the stores. Officials from Sevierville, Tennessee, for instance, take issue with the height of the pole, not the size of the flag.
Lemonis for weeks has defiantly said the flags will not come down and argues that the city’s ordinance violates state law.
Greenville Communications Manager Brock Letchworth said after the city took legal action that the issue was never been about removing an American flag or the type of flag.
“It is about bringing the flag into compliance with city code,” Letchworth said in a statement.
“We look forward to finding a resolution that will result in the continued display of the flag, but in a way that does not violate local laws.”
The closure of the store comes just weeks after Lemonis defiantly declared the giant flags.
Lemonis told Fox & Friends earlier this month that he wouldn’t’ budge on the issue, and that the flags are his love letter to the United States, which allowed him to thrive there after he had to leave Beirut, Lebanon.