More details are emerging after an American flag was displayed upside down at a Somali Independence Day event in Minnesota, sparking both outrage and apologies in a situation that has gone viral on social media in recent days.
The St. Cloud Police Department confirmed to Fox News Digital that on July 3 at 5:29 p.m., the department received a call that the U.S. flag was being flown upside down on a city flagpole at the Lake George Park Pavilion during a Somali Independence Day event.
A video from that event, exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital, showed the flag upside down as event attendees, roughly 500 people at peak times, enjoyed the festivities. The department said the officer "corrected the flag without objection" and that organizers "indicated to City staff that the flag being flown upside down was not intentional."
Police leader blasts ‘spineless’ Mayor Frey, Minneapolis City Council for Somali gang problem, staffing woes
Joe Gamaldi, the national vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police, joined Liz Collin on her podcast to talk about policing in Minneapolis.
Somali gang problem captured on camera from the 4th of July
This past weekend marked yet another violent Fourth of July in Minneapolis. Dozens of car windows were smashed, there was a homicide, and several people were injured by gunfire—with some of it caught on camera.
Despite the danger to the public, many local leaders seem unwilling to publicly acknowledge that there is a Somali gang problem in the city.
Gamaldi, however, had a lot to say about policing and crime in Minneapolis.
“I think Mayor [Jacob] Frey likes to talk tough with everyone, but I think we all know he is completely spineless,” Gamaldi said.
“Because these gangs know that even if they are arrested, they’re just gonna be let right back out over and over and over again,” he said.
Gamaldi pointed out who is really getting harmed by all of this: “the law-abiding, hardworking members of the community.”
“You know, it’s funny because you’ll see politicians who, I will remind you, sit their asses safely behind their desks and say we need to defund and dismantle the police department. But it’s not them who has to deal with the consequences,” he added.
Gamaldi explained how “defund the police” ideology shares much of the blame for the rise in violence.
“When we went down this failed social experiment back in 2020 and 2021, you saw 16 American cities experience their highest murder rate in recorded history. Innocent civilians paid with their blood,” he said.
Gamaldi spoke clearly about the hypocrisy of the “defund the police” movement: “You know who got it the worst? It was black males who averaged a homicide rate of 12 times that of any other race. Yet we still had these lunatics pushing defund the police.”
“It is very clear that they are willing to put their failed ideology over the safety of their community members, and it’s sickening,” he added.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
USA