This Firefighter Is In Hot Water After Putting A Confederate Flag Where He Shouldn’t

by Austin Petersen

By Casey Harper

A Minnesota volunteer firefighter has been suspended after flying a Confederate flag from a firetruck during a parade.

Brian Nielsen, 43, drove the Hartland Fire Department truck through the traditional “3rd of July” parade with a U.S. and Confederate flag on the back of the truck, The Albert Lea Tribune reports. Nielsen was suspended Sunday after outcry over the flag.

Nielsen said he expects to be asked to resign and that he’ll go with the request if asked. He said he put the flag up without consulting the fire department.

“I will out of respect for them, yes I will [resign],” he told Minnesota CBS local. “I’m sorry I hurt my city and hurt the fire department.”

After a white male shot nine black church attendees in Charleston last month, the debate over the Confederate flag erupted since the alleged shooter had pictures on Facebook of himself with a Confederate flag. Saying the flag is a symbol of racism, activists began calling for the removal of the flag from South Carolina’s capitol as well as public property around the nation.

That’s why Nielsen’s decision has attracted such media attention, but he said that to him the flag is not about race.

“I don’t see race,” Nielsen told The Albert Lea Tribune. “Black and white are the same to me. My belief is that ‘politically correct’ is going too far.”

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Austin Petersen is a homegrown Missourian with a lifelong passion for liberty. He grew up on a horse farm in Peculiar, Missouri and went on to attend Missouri State University, graduating with a degree in the Fine Arts. After developing a career in media in both New York City and Washington, D.C., he returned to Kansas City, MO, the city he now calls home. In 2016, Petersen appeared on the national stage as a candidate for president of the United States. He took second place in the crowded Libertarian primary behind Governor Gary Johnson and ahead of cyber security maverick John McAfee. During his campaign, Petersen earned many high-profile conservative endorsements, including Mary Matalin, Erick Erickson and Leon Wolf of RedState.com. Petersen also brings decades of professional experience in a wide variety of fields, from content production and media to business and political activism. He is the owner and chief executive of Stonegait LLC, a consulting firm specializing in photo and video services. He was also the director of production at FreedomWorks and an associate producer for Judge Andrew Napolitano’s show “Freedom Watch” on the Fox Business Network. Additionally, Petersen has a national following as a commentator and professional pundit. He is the founder of The Libertarian Republic, a powerful online news source for the public that receives an average of 1 million unique visits monthly and whose podcast, The Freedom Report, receives an average of one million monthly downloads. He is also a frequent contributor on television, appearing on Fox News, Fox Business, CNN, MSNBC and on dozens of local radio shows.

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