Randy Kehr, executive director of the chamber, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that it was “unfortunate” someone chose to fly the Confederate flag at the parade.
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The Albert Lea Tribune reported Nielsen, who drove the truck with members of his family aboard, said the point he was trying to make is that the Confederate flag is part of history.
The flag has since been pulled down in multiple states, with South Carolina planning to vote to remove it from a flagpole in front of the state capital building.
Nielsen says he wasn’t looking for attention and didn’t think flying the flag would spur as much discussion as it has in the community and on social media.
He added, “It’s a hard situation”.
Brian Nielsen, of the Hartland Fire Department, said he would quit if that is requested.
Before the parade, Nielsen said, a woman wearing a DFL patch on her shirt came up to him and criticized him for having the Confederate flag on the truck. Although opinions are “sharply divided by race” – 72 percent of African Americans say the flag is a symbol or racism, while 25 percent of whites do.
Many fellow Hartland residents said it caught them off guard and they do not think it was a good idea, but Robert Sibilrud said he was not offended by it. “I just wanted to stand up and say that PC is not right all the time”. This year’s theme: “Teaming Up for America”. “Neither of those things should apply, and the only way to avoid that is to not do that”, he said. To display a secessionists’ flag on this holiday, and to display it as an equal to the American flag as Nielsen did, was disrespectful to veterans and others marking this occasion.
MPR News notes the Confederate flag was flown at the same height as the USA flag, which violates the U.S. Flag Code.
The department is overreacting to what amounts to a free speech issue. “However, when represented with a brand, responsibility and caution generally is taken up a notch”.
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He apologized for his actions and said race was not a driving factor.
