Vermont school district sparks outrage after raising Somali flag on campus
A Vermont school district has sparked national outrage after district leaders raised the flag of Somalia on campus.
The Winooski School District — located just outside Burlington, where roughly 9% of students are Somali — raised the light-blue flag on Monday to honor the “Somali youth and families in Winooski and Vermont.”
The clip of the flag-raising was shared online and was quickly flooded with hundreds of furious messages. It came after bombshell revelations about a massive $1 billion aid fraud scandal involving Somali immigrants in Minnesota.
The backlash forced district officials to shut down its website and disconnect many of its phones on Monday, VT Digger reported.
“First, we want to assure everyone that the United States flag remains in its proper place at the highest point, in full compliance with the U.S. Flag Code,” the district said in a statement.
“The district has three flag masts: the U.S. flag on the top mast, the Vermont state flag on the second, and— this week — the Somali flag on the third.”
The Winooski School District said it planned to raise the flag for one week “as a gesture of support for Somali students and families.”
“Winooski is a proudly diverse community, and we are committed to recognizing and uplifting the cultures and identities represented in our schools,” it added in the statement.
President Trump last week raged against Minnesota’s Feeding Our Future fraud scandal and torched “Squad” Rep. Ilhan Omar — who represents the North Star State — as a “terrible person.”
Wilmer Chavarria, the Winooski schools superintendent, claimed the school was the target of a “coordinated national campaign.”
As the calls began pouring in, the district routed callers directly to voicemail. Some callers screamed racial slurs while others issued explicit threats, officials said.
The Somali flag was raised beside an American and Vermont state flag.
It also temporarily shut down its website, which was replaced by a warning that its site had been “removed from public view” while it worked to “address and mitigate an unprecedented volume of illegitimate traffic targeting our services.”
The school district notified the Winooski Police Department, which was visibly present on campus on Monday.
Conservative podcaster Benny Johnson commented on the flag-raising video on X, writing, “I’ve got a suggestion for ICE’s next stop.”
“Is the American flag burning ceremony next week?” another critic commented in response.
“I hope the school district loses all federal funding. There is only one flag — the American flag,” another wrote.
2 comments:
I was in Reno several years ago. A veteran stopped at a Mexican food restaurant and hauled down their flags. The Mexican Flag had been placed on top of Old Glory. It was on the local news. The veteran was pissed.
I'm happy that the Somalians get to fly home for the holidays.
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