A California officials He has praised Camping World for raising the American flag at French Camp after tensions over permit issues, and called the public standoff “great marketing” as he has pressured his county to honor Americans who became prisoners of war or went missing in action.
“We welcome their business and flag,” Tom Petty, a member of the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors, told Fox News Digital. “From the beginning, we wanted them to follow the traditional protocol of getting a permit.”
After more than a year of back-and-forth over permitting requirements, he said the county has received documentation from Camping World and approved the company’s plans. The flag is once again flying over the sprawling lot.
RV retailer Camping World defies California county’s order to take down giant American flag
A giant American flag was hoisted atop a 130-foot-tall flagpole outside RV retailer Camping World’s French Camp, Calif., following a dispute with local officials over permit rules. Joaquin County officials on Thursday granted Camping World a permit for the tall pole.
He said, “These guys go ahead, they put big flags on the ground, but they don’t get any kind of advance permission.” If it becomes an issue, the company gains massive public support — and potential new customers.
Patty, a former boxer who trained with with mike tysonsaid that many voters, many of them veterans, had approached him about defending the flag. He, too, had supported the flag and separately pushed for the county to celebrate Flag Day with a POW/MIA flag alongside the American flag above its headquarters.
“We have to assume that either this was a great marketing opportunity, or they didn’t research that a permit would be required,” Patty said. “Once we got the requested information, we issued the permit, and it’s a done deal for us.”
A December 2023 Google Maps image shows a 130-foot-tall flagpole at the Camping World lot in French Camp, California, but without an American flag. (Google)
Patty, who previously made a career installing large commercial signs, said he did not believe Camping World would take the risk of installing an unsafe base. The retailer has similar large flags at many of its 250 locations nationwide.
“I am sure that Camping World “We’re not anticipating any litigation in the future. We’re taking his word for it,” he said.
He said county zoning rules were meant to address concerns about the depth and width of the pole’s underground base to ensure it wouldn’t be at risk of collapsing. He said the county requested the site plan in June 2023 and received it about a year later. The numbers turned out to be correct, and the county granted the permit this week.
Camping World CEO: ‘I’d rather go to jail than bow to city in US flag dispute’
A giant American flag has been hoisted atop a 130-foot flagpole outside RV retailer Camping World’s French Camp, Calif., offices after a dispute with local officials over permit rules. Joaquin County officials on Thursday granted Camping World a permit for the tall pole.
The county requires permits for structures taller than 30 feet. Camping World’s flagpole stretches 130 feet skyward.
San Joaquin officials have denied claims they ordered the retailer to take down the flag or issued any notice.
The county requested site plans and engineering drawings in June 2023 after the retailer raised a flag before receiving a permit, according to county officials. Partial plans were submitted in December and full documents arrived in June 2024.
A giant American flag has been hoisted atop a 130-foot flagpole outside RV retailer Camping World’s French Camp, Calif., offices after a dispute with local officials over permit rules. Joaquin County officials on Thursday granted Camping World a permit for the massive pole.
In a statement, the county said some of its employees had been harassed and threatened due to the standoff, and asked people to show “common courtesy and civility.”
“We want to express our appreciation for your patriotism. We fully support the display of our flag and welcome local businesses, especially those that are with us The feeling of patriotism,“However, we do expect the permitting process to be followed to ensure safety and appropriate access for all,” the county said in a letter to concerned residents.
Marcus Lemonis, chairman and chief executive officer of Camping World Holdings Inc., speaks during an interview at the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. For years, Lemonis has defended the giant American flags at the Camping World lot, sometimes in defiance of local ordinances. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis raised the flag Monday, several days before the permit was granted.
Lemonis, who immigrated to the U.S. from Lebanon, is a staunch supporter of the flag and has been involved in similar standoffs with local officials across the country. told Fox News In 2019 itself, he had said that he would prefer to be in jail rather than reduce his display of patriotism.
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“When the veterans come to the stores to wave the flag, and when they come on Saturday and ride like veterans, and they cry under the flag pole, I have a firm belief that it will not come down,” he said. “I would rather go to jail.”
Lemonis could not immediately be reached for comment on the French camp permit.
Fox News’ Christine Parks contributed to this report.
