An American flag was flown upside down on a city flagpole during a Somali Independence Day event in St. Cloud, Minnesota, on July 3, prompting backlash and apologies. The St. Cloud Police Department confirmed they responded to a call about the flag's improper display at Lake George Park Pavilion around 5:29 p.m. A video of the event, attended by approximately 500 people, showed the flag inverted.
According to the police department, an officer corrected the flag's orientation without objection. Organizers informed city staff that the flag was flown upside down unintentionally. However, some attendees and local officials have voiced skepticism about the claim of accident, particularly given the presence of politicians and various organizations at the event.
St. Cloud City Councilman Scott Brodeen expressed his disgust, questioning how the error went unnoticed by organizers and politicians present. "If it was accidental, how could it not have been caught by organizers or politicians that were down there campaigning?" Brodeen stated. He added that the timing, near the nation's 250th birthday, made the incident particularly bothersome, emphasizing the flag's symbolism and the sacrifices made for it.
Kathy Neumeister, a resident whose husband is a military veteran, saw videos of the upside-down flag circulating on social media and went to the event herself. She reported that attendees she spoke with claimed not to have noticed the flag was upside down. When she contacted the mayor's office, she was told a city staffer might have made a mistake, a response she found unconvincing.
Nearly a week after the incident, St. Cloud Mayor Jake Anderson acknowledged the concerns. In a statement, he noted that the event organizer had relayed that the display was unintentional and had apologized. "The City takes the proper display of the American flag seriously and understands the significance it holds in our community," Anderson said, adding that the city has a long-standing relationship with the organizer and this had not happened before. The mayor confirmed the flag was corrected before 6 p.m., when the first speaker was scheduled to begin.
The event permit was issued to Internal Housing Assistance, a nonprofit that aids immigrant communities with housing. Omar Podi, the executive director of the nonprofit, took full responsibility for the flag incident, stating it was an accident and not intended as a sign of disrespect. Podi acknowledged the community's frustration, referencing an ongoing large-scale fraud investigation in Minnesota that has largely involved the Somali community.
St. Cloud is home to a significant Somali population, among the largest in Minnesota, which has the largest Somali immigrant population in the United States. Podi assured that measures would be taken to prevent such an occurrence in the future.