Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis announced the closure of one of his company’s Greenville, North Carolina, locations on April 18, claiming local political pressure and legal action over his refusal to remove a massive American flag forced his hand. The Forest River RV retail site was one of two Camping World dealerships in Greenville, and the smaller of the two.
The controversy stems from the dealership’s larger than life flag — a 3,200-square-foot “Old Glory” flown from a 130-foot-tall pole — which violates local ordinances limiting flag size and height. Greenville city officials have pursued legal action, including fines, citing the need to enforce code compliance. Lemonis, however, says the battle has nothing to do with safety or local aesthetics, but everything to do with political overreach.
On social media, Lemonis has doubled down, sharing videos of veterans and employees praising the flag as a point of pride. In one such post, a U.S. Army veteran and Camping World technician says, “I stand over the bay every morning and look at the flag waving. Just makes me proud to work here.” Lemonis captioned the video with the hashtag #NeverComingDown.
Lemonis said he made the difficult decision to consolidate operations after continuous legal battles and what he described as targeted efforts by city officials to damage the company. “This was not voluntary,” he added, describing the store closure as a last resort in the face of city opposition.
City officials maintain that the issue has never been about patriotism, but about safety and fairness in zoning enforcement.
“This has never been about removing an American flag or the type of flag. It is about bringing the flag into compliance with City Code,” Greenville Communications Manager Brock Letchworth said in a statement.
Lemonis, who immigrated to the U.S. from Beirut, Lebanon, sees the flag as deeply personal and symbolic of his American dream.
“I emigrated from Beirut… and had an opportunity to live the American dream,” Lemonis said. “It’s my love letter to tell everybody how grateful I am this country provided me an opportunity where it didn’t have to.”
The fight isn’t limited to Greenville. The city of Sevierville, Tennessee, has also sued Camping World over a similar flag installation, claiming it poses a distraction to drivers and disrupts the area’s scenic beauty.
Despite the growing list of legal challenges, Lemonis has found support from prominent conservatives, including Rev. Franklin Graham.
“These American flags are HUGE—and I love it!” Graham wrote on Facebook. “Yes, his flags and flagpoles exceed the city codes, but the American flag should be an exception.”
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What “scene” is more beautiful than Old Glory? Especially to a legal immigrant.
Greenville should be ashamed and officials involved voted out of office. Maybe the business should move out of Greenville completely so that municipality gets ZERO tax benefits from them!
“Limiting flag size and height!” Why would anyone even think to “limit” the display of our flag…our American Flag?
It’s inconceivable!
All of this is going on while President Trump is planning on installing the largest American flag in the world at the White House. This is political harassment at its worst and obviously pushed by those who don’t love our country. That of course means the liberals out there. Nothing seems to make them happy and they hate everything that the new administration was voted in to accomplish. Let them move elsewhere like Rosie O’Donnel. Amazing though that with all the liberals promising to leave our great country that allegedly only Rosie left because of Donald J. Trump being elected. Consertvatives are finding their voices and letting idiots like Tim Walz know it in the most public of displays. It seems as though the liberals want to turn everything upside down. Perhaps Elon can deport them to the newest country discovered to support human life and let them figure out what life is really all about.