Latest news with #AppealToHeaven
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Sen. Markey presses the Small Business Administration for flying an extremist flag
After an 'Appeal to Heaven' flag — a Revolutionary War–era symbol that's been adopted by Christian nationalists — was hoisted over the Small Business Administration's headquarters during its flag day ceremony on June 11, Democratic Sen. Ed Markey is demanding answers. In a letter to SBA chief Kelly Loeffler, Markey, the ranking member on the Senate's Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, asked for written responses as to how the decision was made to fly the flag and whether Loeffler signed off on its use. (Loeffler posted photos to X of the event at which the 'Appeal to Heaven' flag was featured.) Markey wrote: In recent years, extremist movements that reject the legitimacy of our democratic institutions have co-opted the Appeal to Heaven flag. These include supporters of Donald Trump's 'Stop the Steal' campaign, which falsely claimed President Biden's 2020 electoral victory was fraudulent. On January 6, 2021, insurrectionists carried the Appeal to Heaven flag, and it has become a favored emblem of Christian nationalist and anti-government factions. Flying such a symbol at a federal agency on a day meant to honor the shared ideals represented by the American flag risks endorsing the messages of groups such as the Proud Boys and other white Christian nationalists, which seek to undermine the rule of law. Jon Lewis, a research fellow at Georgetown University's Program on Extremism, told Wired magazine that the SBA waving the Christian nationalist symbol should be 'shocking to anyone who doesn't want to live in a theocracy.' Lewis said the incident amounted to a clear success for extremists: Those who carried the Appeal to Heaven flag to the Capitol on January 6 did so because they truly believed they had the opportunity to inject Christian fundamentalism into the very foundation of our democracy, and the image of the same flag on the SBA will give them ample evidence they succeeded.' While the Appeal to Heaven flag originated during the American Revolution, it has since been repurposed — largely through the efforts of Christian nationalist figure Dutch Sheets — as a modern-day symbol for extremist Christians, as well as neo-Nazis and other extremist groups. Notably, the flag has also flown at a home of Supreme Court justice Samuel Alito and outside lawmakers' offices (Alito has said his wife raised the flag, and some, like Speaker Mike Johnson, have claimed to be unaware of its contemporary associations). Yet the flag flying above the SBA headquarters suggests that the upper echelons of the Republican Party are unafraid of being associated with Christian nationalists or election deniers who stormed the Capitol. This article was originally published on
The Independent
18-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Far-right flag used by Jan 6 rioters flown above government agency in DC
A flag associated with far right groups that was used by January 6 rioters was flown above a government agency headquarters in Washington D.C. last week. A picture of the 'Appeal to Heaven' flag, flying just below the U.S. flag was shared by Kelly Loeffler, the former senator from Georgia and current administrator of the Small Business Administration on June 11. 'Today at SBA's Flag Day Ceremony, we proudly raised a new AMERICAN MADE flag over our headquarters in Washington,' Loeffler wrote. 'It is a privilege to serve under its Stars and Stripes - on behalf of the 34 million small businesses who represent the best of America.' The 'Appeal to Heaven' flag, also known as the 'Pine Tree flag', dates back to the Revolutionary War, and in recent years has become linked to Christian Nationalists. Others use it to show their identification with a patriotic movement that focuses on the founding fathers and the American Revolution. Sources told WIRED that the 'Appeal to Heaven' flag above the SBA building was raised for less than a day. It is unclear who raised it, an unnamed staffer told the outlet. The Independent has reached out to the SBA for comment. As of Wednesday the picture remained on Loeffler's official profile on X. The flag has been at the center of controversy previously, including last summer when reports emerged that it had been flown multiple times outside the New Jersey vacation home of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in 2023. Around the same time The New York Times reported that another flagpole on the judge's front lawn at a property in Virginia had flown an upside-down American flag in late 2020 and early 2021, in the days after Joe Biden took office. The 'Appeal To Heaven' flag and the inverted US flag were both embraced by supporters of Donald Trump 's 'Stop The Steal' campaign, which falsely claimed Biden's victory was fraudulent. Last year, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson also displayed the flag outside of his office, though both men said they did not know that the flag was associated with election deniers. Loeffler has raised eyebrows previously for run-ins with far-right and even white supremacism, though she has denied it was intentional. Back in January 2021, she posed for a selfie with well-known white supremacist Chester Doles, a self-proclaimed neo-Nazi, who spent decades in the KKK. 'Kelly had no idea who that was, and if she had she would have kicked him out immediately because we condemn in the most vociferous terms everything that he stands for,' a spokesman for Loeffler, told the Journal Constitution at the time.
WIRED
17-06-2025
- Politics
- WIRED
Far-Right ‘Appeal to Heaven' Flag Seen at Jan. 6 Riot Flown Above Government Agency in DC
Vittoria Elliott Leah Feiger Jun 17, 2025 7:03 PM The "Appeal To Heaven" flag, a popular symbol for Christian nationalists that was waved by January 6 rioters, was raised over the Small Business Administration headquarters last week. Photograph: SBA_Kelly on X A controversial 'Appeal to Heaven' flag that has recently become associated with the 'Stop the Steal' movement and Christian nationalism was flown above the Small Business Administration (SBA) agency last week in Washington, DC. On June 11, Kelly Loeffler, the former senator from Georgia and current administrator of the SBA, participated in a ceremony where a new American flag was raised over the agency's headquarters in DC. Just beneath the American flag, on what appeared to be the same halyard, was an 'Appeal to Heaven' flag. Sources tell WIRED that the 'Appeal to Heaven' flag was raised for less than a day. Though the flag's roots date to the Revolutionary War, in recent years it has become a popular symbol for the far-right. The 'Appeal to Heaven' flag was waved by January 6 rioters at the Capitol in 2021 and has become associated with President Donald Trump's supporters who deny the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. The flag has also been linked to Christian nationalists, who believe that the US should be a Christian nation, rather than a secular one. 'That the 'Appeal to Heaven' flag is being flown on a government building alongside the American flag should be shocking to anyone who doesn't wish to live in a theocracy,' says Jon Lewis, a research fellow at the Program on Extremism at George Washington University. 'The contemporary usage of the Appeal to Heaven flag is synonymous with Christian nationalism, full stop.' 'Those who carried the 'Appeal to Heaven' flag to the Capitol on January 6 did so because they truly believed they had the opportunity to inject Christian fundamentalism into the very foundation of our democracy, and the image of the same flag on the SBA will give them ample evidence they succeeded,' Lewis adds. Other Republicans have previously shared their support for the 'Appeal to Heaven' flag. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has displayed the flag displayed outside of his office and the flag was controversially flown outside of associate justice of the Supreme Court Samuel Alito's vacation home in New Jersey. In an interview with the Associated Press, Johnson said he did not know that the flag was associated with election deniers. In a letter to lawmakers last year, Alito said the same thing. (Alito also came under fire for the flying of an upside-down American flag at his home in Virginia. An upside-down flag is a distress signal that has, in recent years, become associated with right-wing protesters). In a June 11 post on her X account, Loeffler wrote, 'Today at SBA's Flag Day Ceremony, we proudly raised a new AMERICAN MADE flag over our headquarters in Washington. It is a privilege to serve under its Stars and Stripes - on behalf of the 34 million small businesses who represent the best of America.' The post, which includes a photograph of the Appeal to Heaven flag and photographs of Loeffler and others seemingly looking up at both flags, is still up. It's unclear who was responsible for flying the controversial flag. One SBA staffer who spoke to WIRED on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press says that they saw the flag while leaving the office that day and it appeared to have been taken down by the next morning. 'It was pretty jarring to walk out of work and see that flag on the building, and it's frustrating because it makes it seem like the agency as a whole supports what it has come to stand for, when that's just not true,' they say. 'We're proud to do work that supports, or at least is supposed to support, all Americans. The decision to raise that flag isn't one that reflects the views of everyone at SBA.' 'I think it would've concerned more people if they knew what [the flag] was associated with,' says a second SBA staffer, who also asked to remain anonymous, of the 'Appeal to Heaven' flag. Loeffler briefly served as the Republican senator from Georgia after being appointed to the seat by Governor Brian Kemp in 2020. She lost her bid for re-election in 2021 to then-Democratic senate candidate Raphael Warnock. In the wake of Trump's loss to former president Joe Biden, Loeffler called on Brad Raffensperger, Georgia's secretary of state, to resign, falsely alleging that he had 'failed to deliver honest and transparent elections.' Before she eventually certified the results of the 2020 election, Leoffler refused to fully answer questions about whether Trump had lost the election. In February, after she cochaired his inaugural committee, Trump selected her to serve as administrator for the SBA. Loeffler and the SBA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
