The removal of an American flag from a construction site in Denali National Park has sparked hostility from netizens and a local elected official.
Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan wrote an angry letter to National Park Service Director Charles Sams III on May 24, requesting an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the flag’s disappearance.
Sullivan claimed crews had been ordered to remove a 3-by-5 American flag from a construction vehicle at mile marker 45 on Denali Park Road, near the Pretty Rocks landslide.
The allegations were first reported by Alaska Watchman, a far-right Judeo-Christian outlet. The publication claimed it spoke to a contractor who said a park official ordered workers to remove the flag.
“It is absurd and defies logic that a federal contractor, working on a project funded by American taxpayers, in a national park – the week before Memorial Day – is prohibited from flying the American flag,” Sullivan wrote.
The removal of an American flag from a construction vehicle inside Alaska’s Denali National Park has sparked backlash and attracted the attention of a state senator.
The claims were raised by an anonymous contractor who pointed the finger at Superintendent Brooke Merrell, claiming she ordered crews to remove the flag after visitors complained.
The United States flag flies at several stations within the park, as well as at the visitor center.
Sullivan requested that the NPS “immediately investigate this incident” and “outline what concrete steps (whether increased training, clearer guidelines, or updating policies) the NPS will take to ensure that an incident like this does not happen again in American national parks.” “.
The contractor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, placed the blame on Denali National Park Superintendent Brooke Merrell, alleging that she notified the man overseeing the project of her “complaints” about the flag.
He claimed Merrell ordered workers to remove it as it is “not conducive” and “does not fit the experience of the park.”
According to the contractor, the flag was displayed without incident for weeks and the order came only after tour buses began passing through the area.
Due to unverified allegations, Merrell, the first woman to serve as superintendent in the park’s hundred-year history, became a target of hostility.
Critics flocked to a congratulatory Facebook post announcing her promotion in 2022, accusing her of being “un-American” and “communist.”
The hate morphed into calls for violence, including one comment that read, “I hope this leftist POS gets attacked by a grizzly bear.”
The matter caught the attention of Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan, who ordered an immediate investigation into the circumstances surrounding the flag’s removal.
Sullivan, a Republican and fierce Trump ally, claimed the NPS had “censored” the flag and called the action “an outrage” ahead of Memorial Day.
DBM Contractors announced earlier this month that workers had mobilized to work on the bridge, which will be completed next year.
The outrage sparked an invitation on Facebook for a ‘patriotic flag convoy’ that would travel from a Fairbanks Walmart to the park on Sunday.
Some conservatives were quick to politicize the issue, including the anonymous contractor himself.
“When these liberals take over these parks, that’s what happens,” he said.
The incident also prompted the mobilization of a “patriotic convoy with flags” from a Fairbanks Walmart to the park itself on Sunday.
The event organizer named Merrell in a Facebook invitation, writing that she had ordered “contractors working in the park to remove AMERICAN FLAGS from their vehicles (sic).”
Twenty-six people had promised to attend as of Sunday morning.
Denali National Park follows the progress of construction on Pretty Rocks Landslide on its official website.
Last May, officials announced that the planned completion date for the bridge’s earthworks and foundation had been pushed back to 2024. The bridge is scheduled to be built in 2025, and the project is expected to wrap up a year later.
DBM Contractors announced earlier this month that workers had begun installing micropiles and nail shoring to facilitate construction of the bridge.
DailyMail.com has contacted the NPS for comment and clarification.
