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A flag associated with far-right groups that was used by the January 6 rioters flown to another government agency According to a report, Washington D.C. In.
The controversial flag, featuring the image of a pine tree and the words “Appeal to Heaven,” Recently seen outside the office of a top official of the US Education Department, USA Today Informed.
The “Appeal to Heaven” flag, also known as the “Pine Tree Flag”, dates back to the Revolutionary War, although in recent years Has joined Christian nationalist groups According to the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, as well as the Proud Boys and some neo-Nazi groups.
It was not immediately clear how long the flag had been hanging outside the D.C. office of Murray Bassett, principal deputy assistant secretary in the Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development, the report said.
The flag was also seen outside the Small Business Administration in June. Its resurgence comes at a time when many are concerned about the separation of church and state — and as the president has vowed to protect prayer in public schools.
Rachel Gittleman, president of the nationwide education department union, said. USA Today That the agency “has no place for the symbols raised by the rebels.”
“Since January, hard-working public servants at the U.S. Department of Education have been subjected to threats, harassment, and persistent demoralization,” she said. “Now, they are being asked to operate in an environment where a senior leader is prominently displaying an offensive flag – a flag that, regardless of its origins in the American Revolution, represents intolerance, hatred and extremism.”
In response, a Department for Education spokesperson said, “As always, union members are more concerned about imaginary grievances and silly political fights than the dismal test scores of our country’s students.”
The Education Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Independent.
In June, according to a report, the Small Business Administration raised an “Appeal to Heaven” flag during a ceremony, but it was only flown for one day. wired,
The flag is placed in the center Controversy Earlier, in the summer of 2024, reports emerged that it had been flown multiple times outside the New Jersey vacation home of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in 2023.
At about the same time, the new York Times It was reported that in late 2020 and early 2021, an inverted American flag was flown on another flag pole on the judge’s front lawn on a property in Virginia, days after that. Joe Biden Took charge.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has displayed the flag outside his office on Capitol Hill several times.
The “Appeal to Heaven” flag and the inverted American flag were both adopted by supporters. donald trump’s “Stop the Steal” campaign, which falsely claimed that Biden’s victory was fraudulent.