The organization sponsoring the North Carolina booth at President Donald Trump’s “Great American State Fair” in Washington, D.C., removed a video display showing a Confederate flag, according to reports.
Reuben Jones, a reporter at Spectrum News Washington, captured video of the display before it was removed. The footage shows video monitors inside the booth displaying a static image of the current North Carolina flag and a Confederate flag.
According to the outlet, the booth is not sponsored by the state of North Carolina, but by private organizations. The image of the flag was reportedly removed on Friday.
“On Friday, we became aware of an unapproved image in a video displayed inside the North Carolina Pavilion,” a spokesperson for the North Carolina pavilion told the outlet. “As soon as we were made aware, we immediately removed the video and began reviewing how it occurred. Our focus remains on celebrating America’s 250th birthday and North Carolina’s role in our nation’s history.”
Reports of the video reached North Carolina Governor Josh Stein’s office, prompting a response condemning the display.
“This display does not reflect the North Carolina that we love. America 250 is about unity and bringing our nation together. Glorifying this divisive Confederate symbol does the exact opposite,” the governor’s office said in a statement. “We demand the organizers stop dishonoring the flag of North Carolina.”
One of the corporate sponsors of the booth, Mt Olive Pickle Company, told Spectrum News Washington that it has pulled out of the exhibit due to the flag’s inclusion.
“We are proud of our North Carolina roots, and we agreed to be a part of an exhibit, as presented to us, that would represent the best of our great state,” the company said in its statement. “We were unaware that an image of the Confederate flag was included in a video as part of this exhibit, and we have withdrawn our participation.”
The company said that it “stands on values of human dignity, opportunity, and freedom.”
Other corporate sponsors of the booth include Richard Childress Racing and specialty vehicle maker Spevco.
North Carolina is one of at least eight states that did not sponsor a booth at the fair, with most citing the high cost to run a pavilion, according to The Washington Post.
Lorie Khatod, a consultant who formerly worked as Congresswoman Nancy Mace’s chief of staff, volunteered to act as the lead for the North Carolina exhibit and to organize its private funding.
A spokesperson for Freedom 250 — a public-private partnership established by a Trump executive order to oversee America 250 events — told The Washington Post that “states have full editorial control over the content in their own booths. Freedom 250 received initial design renderings, the video was not a part.”
