Camping world greenville flag lawsuit
Camping World CEO defiant amid lawsuit over huge American flag: 'The flag will not come down'
The CEO of Camping World, a national RV dealer with stores in 200-plus locations, is facing a lawsuit by another town over its massive American flag that waves outside a dealership.
City leaders in Greenville, North Carolina, voted 4-2 last week to initiate legal action to accept down the American flag at a Camping World dealership. The vote came amid another lawsuit filed by the city of Sevierville, Tennessee.
"Not when they sue, not when I lose, not if they take me to jail, the flag is not coming down," Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis said last week after the city council in Greenville voted to authorize the filing of civil action against the company, WITN reported. "While I respect the city council’s position and while I know they have the right to sue me, and they’re going to and I understand I have the right to defend myself, the flag is never coming down."
CAMPING WORLD CEO: ‘I’D RATHER GO TO JAIL' THAN YIELD TO CITY IN AMERICAN FLAG CONTROVERSY
Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis says he'll accept daily fi
Attorneys for Camping World filed a motion to dismiss the City of Greenville’s lawsuit against the company, saying it violates a 2005 state law that keeps local governments from prohibiting the display of “an official government flag.”
The motion to dismiss also states that the city’s lawsuit was not taken to protect the public health, safety and welfare of the community, but because council members displayed “anti-Camping World animus.”
Attorneys for Camping World filed the motion and its supporting brief on Wednesday and Thursday.
No dates have been set for the court to hear the motion.
The City of Greenville filed a complaint on June 5 seeking the court’s assistance in collecting unpaid fines from an oversized flag and flagpole that violate the city’s zoning rules. The city also is seeking an injunction requiring the company to stop the “unauthorized use of property in violation of the City’s Zoning Ordinance.”
The lawsuit stems from the installation of a 130-foot flag pole and 3,200-square-foot flag at the recreational vehicle dealership on Red Banks Road. City ordinance limits the flag poles to 70 feet and flags to 216 square feet. Camping World’s contractor
RV company Camping World’s CEO Marcus Lemonis is refusing to take down a giant U.S. flag at the behest of Greenville, North Carolina’s City Council. Greenville has taken legal action against Lemonis for violations of city ordinances. The Greenville City Council voted 4-2 to take legal action against the company.
Even though the company is being sued, Lemonis has been very defiant and very vocal in refusing to take the flag down. “Not when they sue, not when I lose, not if they take me to jail, the flag is not coming down,” Lemonis told WITN.
His refusal has even reached social media: “The flag will not come down,” Lemonis wrote on X.
According to Newsweek, the flag exceeds city limits, measuring at 3,200 square feet on a 130-foot pole. The flag, which is the same size as a football field, has been up since October 2024.
Lemonis, who is from Lebanon and was adopted by a Miami family who owned a car dealership, also had an American flag. “I remember as a little child telling my family, I’m going to have a flag in my business and it’s going to be bigger than this one,” Lemonis told WITN.
Many Greenville council members have voiced concerns about the company not being truthful
Camping World closes one of two Greenville locations amid controversy over huge flag
WITN reports a Camping World location has closed in Greenville following controversy surrounding a towering American flag.
In his latest interview, Marcus Lemonis, the CEO of Camping World, reiterated his stance that he will not take down the huge flag at his Greenville location at the corner of Evans Street and Red Banks Road while acknowledging the controversy has had an impact on his business in the city.
The city of Greenville asserts the American flag and flagpole it is flying on violate city code due to their size.
WITN reports Lemonis was on Inner Banks Media radio station WTIB Tuesday morning when he told Henry Hinton on Talk of the Town that he just closed one of his two Greenville locations.
Lemonis said that employees at the Forest River RV location on Greenville Boulevard were told they were closing due to the controversy created by the council.
“We think the ordinance is wrong,” Lemonis said. "I think it’s also wrong council members have been working very actively to disparage my business, and on Friday I had to consolidate modification of two dealerships in town. The main o
Camping World Sued by City to Remove American Flag, But They’re Standing Their Ground
Camping World has been in the middle of an American flag controversy at a few of their locations, but one store in North Carolina is fighting back.
Not only are they not taking the flag down, they're going to shut down the whole location instead.
The city of Greenville, N.C. claims that the giant, basketball court-sized American flag that flies in front of Camping World is larger than what city code allows. But Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis has been adamant about not removing the flag, despite receiving thousands of dollars in fines from the city.
The New York Post reports that the Greenville City Council voted 4-2 in March to hire outside legal counsel to sue Lemonis and Camping World.
"We think the ordinance is wrong. I think it’s also wrong council members have been working very actively to disparage my business," Lemonis says in response.
Instead of paying the fines — which are piling up fast — the CEO made the tough decision to shut down the location temporarily, while the litigation continues.
But he mak