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WILKES-BARRE — Activist Gene Stilp on Tuesday said he will file for a permit to burn a combination Nazi-Confederate flag in response to the Bloomsburg Fair’s decision to allow the sale of Confederate flags at this year’s fair.
Stilp said he is “in the process” of requesting a permit to burn a combination Nazi-Confederate battle flag in front of the Columbia County Courthouse on Friday at 11 a.m to coincide with the start of the Bloomsburg Fair.
“Is racism, bigotry and hate alive in Columbia County and the surrounding counties?” Stilp asked in a news release. “What is the exact nature of the Confederate flag that does not make it a symbol of racism, hate and bigotry? It stands for all of the above, including the KKK. Is this what the residents of this county stand for?”
Stilp said he is contacting the Columbia County Commissioners office and the Bloomsburg Police Department for a permit. Calls have been placed today, but Stilp said he could not get through to the proper person, so he will visit both government offices early Wednesday to file the permit applications.
If denied, Stilp said the burning of a combination Nazi-Confederate flag will take place as planned in front of the Columbia County Courthouse in a safe and secure method as to not endanger anyone in the public.
“The Nazi flag and the Confederate flag both stand for racial hatred, bigotry, death to American citizens and oppression,” Stilp said. “I think that activists have to burn this combination Nazi-Confederate flag in front of more courthouses in Pennsylvania to root out racism across the state. Folks have to ask the question: what does the Confederate flag stand for and are they and their friends supporters of that anti-American message?”
Stilp said the flag he intends to burn is two-sided — one side is the Nazi flag and the other is the Confederate battle flag.
At last year’s Bloomsburg Fair, a vendor who ignited a social media firestorm by selling flags depicting a swastika was asked to leave the fairgrounds, and officials said his vendor fee was refunded.
The vendor drew attention when a Scranton woman posted a photo on Facebook of a Nazi flag hanging from his booth. The post drew intense attention from local and national media.
Fair officials said the decision to ask the vendor to leave the fairgrounds was based on public safety because threats had been received.