The Tea Party movement has co-opted the Gadsden flag — a bright yellow flag with a snake and the words “Don’t Tread on Me” written at the bottom — as its unofficial symbol. The revolutionary logo, named after American statesman Christopher Gadsden, dates back to the 18th century and is widely seen all over Tea Party rallies. Now, the flag will be flying over the Connecticut State Capitol building as well:
The Connecticut Tea Party Patriots, a loose-knit group of activists from across the state, received permission from the state Capitol police to fly the flag from Friday through April 15. … The group will gather for a flag-raising ceremony Friday, and afterward candidates endorsed by the Connecticut Tea Party Patriots will host a press conference.
Because the Gadsden flag has “long been associated with the U.S. Marine Corps,” it fits within Connecticut’s policy for flying over the Capitol. However, as state Rep. Michael Lawlor (D) pointed out, “It doesn’t sound like this is an event honoring the Marine Corps.”
Update:
ThinkProgress spoke to the Connecticut State Police who said that the Tea Party’s permission to fly the Gadsden flag has been revoked:
The flag was originally going to be flown because the flag request did not state that the purpose was to have it in conjunction with a political meeting for the Tea Party that was later applied for to be flown in conjunction with the flag. Once the conflict of interest was spotted that the flag wasn’t being flown for its military history — it was being flown because they wanted to have it up in conjunction with their Tea Party rally — it was decided that it would be a conflict of interest and the flag is no longer going to be flown over the Capitol tomorrow.
(HT: TP reader NA)