DeSantis' new Gadsden Flag Florida license plate 'symbolizes dangerous far-right extremist ideology:' NPR

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NPR said Wednesday that Gov. Ron DeSantis's tweet about his plate on the new Florida number with the Gadsden flag "reopened the debate" over the flag controversy. reported.

Scott Neuman reports that despite the famous "Don't Step on Me" flag that has existed since the country's founding, it is now associated with a "far-right extremist ideology." increase.

"The image of the American Revolutionary War-era Gadsden flag dates back to Benjamin His Franklin, but for many it is a far-right extremist ideology and an attempt to overthrow 2020." ” came to symbolize the movement. The result of the presidential election," Neumann wrote.

DeSantis tweeted the image on his July 30th, promoting a pre-order of the plate, with proceeds going to the Florida Veterans Foundation.

Don't step on the flag ( iStock)

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However, throughout the NPR article, Neuman mentions Rachel Carroll Rivas (Southern Poverty Law CenterDeputy Director of Research and Analysis for the Intelligence Project). The person who attacked the image.

"She says it became clear that the flag was used for some 'really horrible' purposes. Most notably, a riot at the US Capitol on January 6, when violent protesters attacked police as part of an attempt to overthrow it. It's the result of the 2020 presidential election," Neumann wrote.

An NPR tweet promoting the article read, "Governor Ron DeSantis said the new Florida license plate, featuring the Revolutionary War-era Gadsden flag, 'sends a clear message to out-of-state vehicles. Critics say it epitomizes a dangerous far-right extremist ideology."

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the legislative session, Tuesday, January 11, 2022, in Tallahassee, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack) ( (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Nevertheless, Neuman noted in his article that both theflag and the mottoHe acknowledged that they are considered protected speech under the First Amendment regardless of who uses them.

He wrote: Like the flags flying inside the besieged United States Capitol, or the license plates on the highways of Florida.

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The report also found that several states had endorsed political messages on license plates containing the Gadsden flag. Neuman spotlighted how Kansas approved the Gadsden flag on state license plates just weeks after the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol. I was. But Democratic Kansas Governor Laura Kelly exercised her veto power over the design before the Republican Congress overruled her.

"I don't think that's appropriate," said Dinah Sykes, the Kansas Senate minority leader. "When I see it, whether it's a flag or a license plate... it makes me sick."

Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit on July 22, 2022.  (Sarah Freeman/Fox News)

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DeSantis tweeteda Florida-inspired version of the 2021 Gadsden flag. He then called for a special session to ban mandatory coronavirus vaccines.