Even the threat of jail time was no match for one CEO’s patriotism after a city council’s decision on his oversized Old Glory found him explaining his “love letter” to the United States.
“…the flag is never coming down.”
(Video Credit: WITN)
For years, Lebanese-American businessman Marcus Lemonis has been raising enormous versions of the stars and stripes over his Camping World RV dealerships across the nation. As some of those American flags have faced legal challenges, including presently in Greenville, North Carolina and Sevierville, Tennessee, Lemonis vowed that he would not be moved by a city council’s vote, even if it meant time behind bars.
“While I respect the city council’s position and while I understand they have the right to sue me, and they’re going to, and I understand I have the right to defend myself, the flag is never coming down,” he told WITN after the Greenville City Council voted 4-2 to authorize civil action over an alleged city code violation for the 40′ x 80′ flag on a 130′ tall pole, 50′ taller than permissible. “Not when they sue, not when I lose, not if they take me to jail, the flag is not coming down.”
Holding the same stance in Tennessee ahead of an April 15 court date, Lemonis took to X early Tuesday morning and addressed “Any town USA” about the flags at his dealerships as well as at Shulers BBQ in South Carolina and in the town of Grafton, Illinois.
“These flags represent something personal to me. I came to this country from an orphanage in Beirut, Lebanon, at 9 months old. I grew up in a middle-class home where your work ethic was everything, maybe the only thing. Our family was in the Chevrolet Business and had the largest flag in Miami,” wrote the CEO, who was adopted by a family in Florida. “As a child, I used to tell everyone that one day I would have a business of my own and that…my flag would be bigger, like any child would.”
Dear Any town USA,
I have received countless calls, emails, texts and mail regarding my refusal to take down the flag. These flags that I put up are not just at @CampingWorld. They have gone up at 1 small business in South Carolina @ShulersBBQ and in the town of Grafton IL.… pic.twitter.com/NZ6MnUOggG— Marcus Lemonis (@marcuslemonis) April 1, 2025
The CEO detailed that the 220 flags he’s raised across the nation combined for a total of 704,000 square feet of Star-Spangled Banners with a goal to surpass 1 million square feet, “I thought it was a more impressive way to be a ‘millionaire.'”
“The flag is my love letter to a country that gave me a chance when I didn’t have one, gave me a free market to make money, gave me freedom to be me, and gave me courage to try anything. While I receive the criticism saying that I don’t respect laws because I have money, because I’m too self-centered, too greedy, attention-seeking, publicity hound, bad advertiser and the list goes on. Well, I do have pride, I have been blessed with success…I do have conviction and I have my freedom,” said Lemonis as daily fines of $250 accrued in Greenville, even after he’d previously won a dispute in Statesville, North Carolina, and elsewhere.
“The flag isn’t coming down. No matter the consequences,” concluded the CEO, who promised to meet the cities in court. “I am an only child. My parents are both passed. I have no kids. I have my faith, my businesses, my wife, and my principles.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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