FORT PIERCE – A star-spangled banner flew upside down at the U.S. Post Office on Orange Avenue on Wednesday, days after U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was criticized for years of photos of the same scene at his home.
The inverted American flag is a symbol used by “Stop the Steal,” groups that support false conspiracy theories that the 2020 presidential election was actually won by the former president. Donald Trumponly to be stolen by President Joe Biden.
The photos of the flag at Alito’s home were taken three days before Biden’s inauguration, about two months after the election and less than two weeks after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol led by followers of false election denial theories. . The photos were first reported last week by the New York Times. Alito said his wife arranged the flag that way.
It is unclear how long the flag flew upside down outside the post office in Fort Pierce, or who was responsible for it. A POW-MIA flag, honoring prisoners of war and missing soldiers, flew right side up Wednesday, just below the inverted American flag.
Management at the post office, a federal building, declined to comment Wednesday and referred all questions to a company spokesman. Debra Jean Fetterly, USPS spokesperson for South Florida, said she would call the local postmaster to inquire about the flag.
“The US Postal Service is proud to display the American flag at its facilities,” Fetterly said later in an email. “We appreciate being made aware of this situation, which appears to be an inadvertent error and which local management is investigating. As soon as we were made aware of it, the issue was immediately corrected and the American flag is now flying correct. Our sincere apologies for this unintentional incident.”
St. Lucie County narrowly voted for Trump with just over 50% of the vote in 2020. However, a majority of Fort Pierce voters supported Biden, including more than 75% of voters in the district where the Orange Avenue post office is established, and more than 92% in the district with boundaries starting across the street.
Meanwhile, about a mile east on Orange Avenue, a hearing was underway at the Alto Lee Adams Sr. U.S. Courthouse, where lawyers for Trump again asked U.S. District Court Judge Aileen M. Cannon to file charges against him . case involving his safekeeping and storage of classified federal documents at Mar-a-Lago, his Palm Beach home and club. Trump was not present.
Wicker Perlis is TCPalm’s Watchdog reporter for St. Lucie County. You can reach him at wicker.perlis@tcpalm.com and 504-331-0516.
This article originally appeared in Treasure Coast Newspapers: Mistake or pro-Trump symbol? The post office flies the American flag upside down
