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Firefighters in New York City's East Village have been ordered to remove the „Red Line“ American flag honoring the six service members who lost their lives on 9/11.
This came after neighbors called the flag „fascist“ and New York City Council member Carlina Rivera questioned whether it was a „political symbol.“
New York City firefighters' flag honoring 9/11 victims called 'fascist symbol'
The incident began on March 22 when a man claiming to be a Rivera employee confronted a Ladder 11 firefighter.
new york post report, “The man rode his bicycle to the East 2nd Street fire station and told the firefighters that he worked for Rivera and that the councilman's office had complained to the FDNY about the city flag three days earlier. ” he said. The flag features a red stripe to honor injured firefighters and firefighters who died in the line of duty. ”
„He called it a 'fascist symbol' and demanded to know why it was still there, sources said,“ the Post wrote.
The story continued:
In a March 19 email to FDNY Intergovernmental Affairs Coordinator Madison Hernandez, Rivera City Clerk Lysander Rosario said the City Councilman's office had twice been asked by „constituents“ about the ladder company's flag. He said he was contacted and asked if it violated departmental regulations. „(FDNY officials) claimed it was to honor fallen firefighters, but (voters) raised the idea that they could have used the FDNY flag instead of a political symbol,“ Rosario said. wrote.
“It is his and our understanding that private political symbols are not allowed to be displayed on public vehicles.”
“Could you please confirm if there is a violation flag/symbol on Ladder 11?” added the email, obtained by the Post.
Hours after the „voters“ left the firehouse, FDNY Deputy Chief Joseph Cirali visited local firefighters and warned them that the flag would be removed from the fire truck, in violation of the agency's ban on „altered“ versions of the American flag. He reluctantly stated that he had to take the plane down.
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American flag returned
Hours after the flag was removed from the fire engine, the decision was apparently reversed.
„Secretaries Kavanaugh and John Hodgens reversed the decision and allowed the flags to be returned to the trucks,“ the Post reported. „We're happy with the outcome, but angry that this happened in the first place,“ Ladder 11 Firefighter said.
„This flag has a very important meaning to us,“ he added.
9/11 was clearly one of the worst tragedies America has ever experienced. It was without a doubt the largest domestic terrorist attack in U.S. history.
And New York City firefighters were on the front lines.
Many heroes died that day trying to protect their fellow countrymen. We are grateful to them.
At least they should be remembered by their brothers. Shame on anyone who says otherwise.