Camping World CEO defiant amid lawsuit over huge American flag: 'The flag will not come down'
In an act of defiance, Marcus Lemonis, the CEO of Camping World, said the flags will not come down
I fly the American flag because I believe in it, says Camping World CEO
Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis discusses his refusal to take down a massive American flag despite fines on ‘The Bottom Line.’
The CEO of Camping World, a national RV dealer with stores in 200-plus locations, is facing a lawsuit by another city over its massive American flag that waves outside a dealership.
City leaders in Greenville, North Carolina, voted 4-2 last week to initiate legal action to take down the American flag at a Camping World dealership. The vote came amid another lawsuit filed by the city of Sevierville, Tennessee.
"Not when they sue, not when I lose, not if they take me to jail, the flag is not coming down," Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis said last week after the city council in Greenville voted to authorize the filing of civil action against the company, WITN reported. "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."
CAMPING WORLD CEO: ‘I’D RATHER GO TO JAIL' THAN YIELD TO CITY IN AMERICAN FLAG CONTROVERSY
Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis says he'll accept daily fines from the local Greenville, North Carolina, government over the company's giant American flag on its dealership. (Getty Images / Getty Images)
"They need to sue me, not the business, because I put the flags up everywhere," he added.
The Greenville City Council said the flag is nearly the size of a basketball court at 3,200 square feet. It flies on a pole that stands 130 feet tall, almost double the size of what is currently allowed.
On Monday, Lemonis posted an image of a complaint filed in March by the city of Sevierville, which had requested the removal of a 100-foot flagpole on its property, which flies a 40-feet by 80-foot American flag.
"The Flag will not come down," Lemonis wrote on X.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Lemonis and the city for comment.
An American flag against an idyllic sky with fluffy clouds. (iStock / iStock)
It is not the first time the RV giant has defied orders to remove the huge Camping World flags; Lemonis has had similar experiences across the country and even takes on daily fines in some areas.
"We dealt with it in Statesville [North Carolina]; Morgan Hill, California; Onalaska, Wisconsin; and now Greenville, North Carolina," he told FOX Business' "The Bottom Line" in January. "And I think this is a perfect example… of local and city and state municipalities putting regulations on businesses that don't advance the business. They just create more noise and unnecessary distractions."
Lemonis was born in Lebanon and left on the doorstep of an orphanage, according to the Camping World website. A couple from Miami adopted him when he was 9 years old.
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He said he grew up watching his family in the car dealership business, flying their American flag, WITN reported.
Lemonis has been defiant amid requests to take down the flag.
Fox News Digital's Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.