Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis breaks down North Carolinas lawsuit against his love letter to America on The Bottom Line.
Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis has said he’s been forced to shutter one of his stores in North Carolina amid a heated legal battle about his massive American flags flying at his stores.
Lemonis told WITN this week that he closed the smaller of his two RV dealerships in Greenville on April 18 accusing council members of actively trying to disparage his business for refusing to take down the giant flags.
City leaders in Greenville, North Carolina, voted to take legal action against the flags in March since they violate city ordinances and Lemonis has been hit with $15,000 in fines.
Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis has said he’s been forced to shutter one of his stores in North Carolina amid a heated legal battle about his massive American flags flying at his stores. (Getty Images / Fox News)
RV RETAILER CAMPING WORLD DEFIES CALIFORNIA COUNTY ORDER TO TAKE DOWN GIANT AMERICAN FLAG
The flags are almost the size of a basketball court, spanning 3200 square feet while the pole it flies from is around 130 feet tall, almost double the current allowance.
“We think the ordinance is wrong,” Lemonis told local radio station WTIB, according to WITN. “They (the council) should probably do a little research on the statutes in the state of North Carolina.”
“I think it’s also wrong council members have been working very actively to disparage my business and on [April 18] I had to consolidate modification of two dealerships in town… Our business which has been unfortunately impacted uniquely in Greenville North Carolina.”
The national RV dealer has more than 200 locations across the country and is known for proudly flying large “Old Glory” flags at its stores. Camping World has also been sued by other municipalities across the country over the size of the American flags it flies at the stores. Officials from Sevierville, Tennessee, for instance, take issue with the height of the pole, not the size of the flag.
Lemonis for weeks has defiantly said the flags will not come down and argues that the city’s ordinance violates state law.
In this undated handout photo provided by Camping World, an American flag blows in the wind at Gander RV, in Statesville, N.C. (Jennifer Munday/Camping World, AP)
CAMPING WORLD CEO DEFIANT AMID LAWSUIT OVER HUGE AMERICAN FLAG: ‘THE FLAG WILL NOT COME DOWN’
Greenville Communications Manager Brock Letchworth said after the city took legal action that the issue was never been about removing an American flag or the type of flag.
“It is about bringing the flag into compliance with city code,” Letchworth said in a statement.
“We look forward to finding a resolution that will result in the continued display of the flag, but in a way that does not violate local laws.”
The closure of the store comes just weeks after Lemonis defiantly declared the giant flags.
Lemonis told Fox & Friends earlier this month that he wouldn’t’ budge on the issue, and that the flags are his love letter to the United States, which allowed him to thrive there after he had to leave Beirut, Lebanon.
WATCH: Cities file lawsuits against Camping World over company’s American flags
Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis joins ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss the companys legal battle over their massive American flags. Greenville, North Carolina claims the issue is not about removing the flag but complying with city code.
“I wasn’t born in this country. I emigrated from Beirut, Lebanon. Came here to Miami, Florida, and had an opportunity to live the American dream in this country,” he said.
“I’ve put a lot of sweat and tears into building this business for my people, for the country. And it’s my love letter to tell everybody how grateful I am this country provided me an opportunity where it didn’t have to. To make money, to be a capitalist, to provide jobs in America.”
“From my perspective, the flag’s not a problem … It has FAA clearance, and for me, this feels like an opportunity for the city to say we want to control what’s happening there.
An American flag against an idylllic sky. (iStock / iStock)
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Meanwhile, Hinton told WTIB that he proposed making $50,000 donation to Maynard Children’s Hospital in Greenville in lieu of fines and with the agreement that the council would change the ordinance to allow his flags.
Lemonis then said he would make the donation but did not want it to be a quid pro quo in exchange for the ordinance change.
“The merits of the Children’s Hospital stand on their own and anytime an organization like that’s trying to do good things and actually doing good things, they’re deserving of a contribution.
“So I’d be happy to make a donation but… I would prefer not to have it ……be a quid pro quo.”
Fox News’ Madison Colombo contributed to this report.