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Camping World's massive US flag praised by former boxer on California board that greenlit display
A California official is praising Camping World for its towering U.S. flag display in French Camp after tensions over permitting issues, calling the public standoff “great marketing” as he pushes his county to go honor Americans who became prisoners of war or missing in action.
“We welcome their business and the flag,” Tom Patti, a member of the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors, told Fox News Digital. “From the very beginning, we would’ve preferred they followed a traditional protocol of getting a permit.”
After more than a year of back and forth over permitting requirements, he said the county has received documentation from Camping World and approved the company’s plans. The flag is already flying above the sprawling lot once more.
RV RETAILER CAMPING WORLD DEFIES CALIFORNIA COUNTY ORDER TO TAKE DOWN GIANT AMERICAN FLAG
A giant U.S. flag flies atop a 130-foot-tall flag pole outside RV retailer Camping Worlds French Camp, California location after a showdown with local authorities over permitting rules. Joaquin County officials granted Camping World a permit for the towering pole Thursday.
“These guys go forward, they put big flag poles into the ground, but they don’t go for advanced permitting in any capacity,” he said. If it becomes an issue, the company winds up getting massive public support – and potential new customers.
Patti, a former boxer who trained with Mike Tyson, said a number of voters, many of them veterans, approached him to defend the flag. He too had supported the flag and separately pushed for the county to commemorate Flag Day with the POW/MIA flag alongside the American Flag above its headquarters.
“We’ll have to assume that it was either a fantastic marketing opportunity, or they didn’t do the research that a permit would be required,” Patti said. “Once we got the info we requested, we issued a permit, and it’s a done deal for us.”
A Google Maps image from December 2023 shows the 130-foot flag pole at the Camping World lot in French Camp, California, without its accompanying U.S. Flag. (Google)
Patti, who previously had a career in the installation of large commercial signs, said he didn’t believe that Camping World would risk installing an unsafe base. The retailer has similar large flags at many of its 250 locations around the country.
“I’m certain that Camping World is not looking for lawsuits in the future,” he said. “We are taking their word for it.”
County zoning rules were meant to address concerns about the depth and width of the pole’s underground base to ensure it wouldn’t be at risk of toppling over, he said. The county had requested a site plan back in June 2023 and received it roughly a year later, he said. The numbers checked out, and the country granted a permit this week.
CAMPING WORLD CEO: ‘I’D RATHER GO TO JAIL’ THAN YIELD TO CITY IN AMERICAN FLAG CONTROVERSY
A giant U.S. flag flies atop a 130-foot-tall flag pole outside RV retailer Camping World’s French Camp, California location after a showdown with local authorities over permitting rules. Joaquin County officials granted Camping World a permit for the towering pole Thursday.
The county requires permits for structures above 30 feet tall. Camping World’s flag pole stretched 130 feet skyward.
San Joaquin officials have denied claims that they ordered the retailer to take down the flag or issued any citations.
The county requested site plans and engineering drawings in June 2023 after the flag went up before the retailer got a permit, according to county officials. Partial plans were turned over in December and the full documents arrived in June 2024.
A giant U.S. flag flies atop a 130-foot-tall flag pole outside RV retailer Camping World’s French Camp, California location after a showdown with local authorities over permitting rules. Joaquin County officials granted Camping World a permit for the towering pole Thursday.
In a statement, the county said some of its employees had been harassed and threatened over the standoff and asked for people to show “common decency and courtesy.”
“We want to express our appreciation for your patriotism. We fully support the display of our flag and welcome local businesses, especially those that share our patriotic spirit,” the county wrote in a letter to concerned residents. “However, we do require adherence to the permitting process to ensure safety and proper access for everyone.”
Marcus Lemonis, chairman and chief executive officer of Camping World Holdings Inc., speaks during an interview on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. For years, Lemonis has defended massive American flags at Camping World lots, sometimes in defiance of local ordinances. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis had the flag raised on Monday, days before the permit came through.
Lemonis, who immigrated to the U.S. from Lebanon, is a staunch defender of the flag and has been involved in similar standoffs with local authorities around the country. He told Fox News as far back as 2019 that he’d rather get locked up than shrink the scale of his patriotic displays.
“When veterans show up at the stores for the flag-raisings, and when they come on Saturdays and do their veteran rides, and they weep at the bottom of the flag pole, that’s the conviction that I need to say it’s just not going to come down,” he said. “I would rather go to jail.”
Lemonis could not immediately be reached for comment on the French Camp permit.
Fox News’ Kristine Parks contributed to this report.
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LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Another platform is coming under fire by the State of Nevada over alleged unsafe conditions for children.
On Wednesday, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford filed a lawsuit against Discord, which is a communication platform that facilitates instant, text, and chat messaging as well as voice and video calls. Users are also able to share media, including photos and videos.
“Discord’s popularity with minors also makes it popular with a much more dangerous cohort: child predators, who seek to groom and exploit minor users,” the 100-page complaint reads in part. “Discord knows that the children on its platform are at risk, and further knows that children and their parents and guardians are afraid of malicious actors on the platform. Yet Discord has done very little to protect these children, and has refused to implement safety features that it knows would greatly ameliorate the risk.”
The complaint lists several cases as alleged proof that the platform is dangerous:
- In 2023, a Las Vegas man was sentenced to life in prison for sexually assaulting a minor and producing child pornography of his victim, whom he groomed on Discord.
- In 2024, a Reno man was sentenced to 10 years in prison to be followed by a lifetime supervised release for grooming a minor on Discord.
- In 2025, a sting captured eight individuals who had used Discord — among other communications platforms — to solicit sex from law enforcement agents posing as children.
According to the complaint, a group called 764, which was located on a Discord server that contained violent videos and “how-to” guides on sexually exploiting and extorting minors online, “has acknowledged a presence in Nevada”. The FBI’s Las Vegas field office is part of one or more of the agency’s 250 investigations into the organization.
Ford’s team also alleges that Discord has several flaws in its design, which is putting children at risk. For example, insufficient barriers for strangers contacting children, misleading and/or ineffective filters, parental control issues, and an “absence of age or identity verification in the account creation process.”
In February 2026, Discord tried to implement a requirement where users had to authenticate their age “with a face scan or by uploading a form of ID if they want to access adult content.” However, the complaint states that after user backlash to that announcement, “Discord immediately went into damage control mode and walked backed its commitment.”
According to the complaint, Ford’s team is seeking civil penalties of up to $15,000 per violation of the Nevada Deceptive Trade Practices Act and up to $25,000 for each violation directed at a minor.
Discord has denied the claims made in the complaint and sent Channel 13 the following statement:
“The lawsuit’s characterization of Discord does not reflect the platform we have built or the investments we have made in user safety. Discord is a communications platform built to connect people around playing games. Users join Discord communities intentionally, based on their interests, and unlike social media, the platform has no algorithmic feed, infinite scroll, or public “likes” pushing content to mass audiences.
Our safety systems combine advanced technology and human-led investigations, alongside user reports to help identify accounts or spaces engaged in harmful activity, including exploitative and child sexual abuse materials. We require all users to be at least 13 to use Discord and also provide teen users and their parents and guardians with important privacy and safety tools, including Teen Safety Assist and our Family Center. We look forward to collaborating with policymakers in working toward a safer online experience for all users on Discord and across the internet.”
Discord Spokesperson
This is not the only platform that is facing lawsuits in Nevada.
Last month, Ford announced the State of Nevada had reached a settlement with the online gaming platform Roblox.
In addition to abuse concerns, 13 Investigates partnered with ABC News Investigates to tell you how teenagers were being recruited on Roblox to become hackers.
WATCH: 2023 cybersecurity incidents lead to Nevada Gaming Control Board changes
2023 cybersecurity incidents lead to Nevada Gaming Control Board changes
As part of that settlement, Roblox officials agreed to several changes to make the platform safer, including age verification, content control, enhanced parental controls, and agreements to spend $2.5 million for online safety awareness campaigns as well as workshops and training for law enforcement.
APRIL 2026: Nevada reaches settlement with gaming platform Roblox
FULL PRESSER: State of Nevada reaches settlement with online gaming platform Roblox
Ford’s office has filed similar consumer protection lawsuits against TikTok, Snap, Meta, YouTube, and Kik, all alleging harmful design features and a lack of common-sense online safety measures for children.
According to Ford’s office, they’re set to go to trial against TikTok and Snap next year.
LAS ANIMAS COUNTY, Colo. (KKTV) – A 4.0 magnitude earthquake struck in southern Colorado near the New Mexico border Thursday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), with shocks felt as far as Pueblo.
According to the USGS, around 10:45 a.m., an earthquake struck near Weston at a depth of 8.7 km.
USGS said weak shaking could be felt as far as southern Pueblo and Monte Vista, with the shaking measured at an intensity level 3.
USGS said it estimates a 28% chance that an aftershock greater than 3.0 can be felt again within the next week.
Copyright 2026 KKTV. All rights reserved.
ROSEBURG, Ore. — A pedestrian was killed when a driver drifted from her lane of travel, striking a Junction City man, according to Oregon State Police.
At 4:48 p.m. on May 5, Oregon State Police responded to a vehicle versus pedestrian fatal crash on Highway 99W near milepost 110.5 in Lane County.
Police say a blue Hyundai Elantra driven by a 16-year-old female, was southbound on Highway 99W near Junction City when she became distracted, left the travel lane, and struck a pedestrian.
The pedestrian, Joel Robert Benjamin Coriell, 35, of Junction City, had been walking along the southbound shoulder of the highway.
Coriell was transported to an area hospital with serious injuries and later died at the hospital.
The driver of the Hyundai had reported minor injuries. She remained on scene and cooperated with the investigation, police said.
The highway was not impacted during the on-scene investigation, OSP stated.
OSP was assisted by the Junction City Police Department, Lane County Sheriff’s Office, and the Oregon Department of Transportation.
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