'Pretty jarring': Flag 'synonymous with Christian nationalism' flies above gov't building

17 June

Image via Benjamin Clapp/Shutterstock.

A controversial flag associated with far-right causes was recently seen prominently displayed on a federal building, according to a new report.

In a Tuesday article, WIRED reported that the "Appeal to Heaven" flag was seen displayed on the flagpole of the Small Business Administration (SBA) earlier this week, just below the American flag. That flag — which depicts an evergreen tree with the text "An Appeal to Heaven" – was seen at the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, and was also flown outside the vacation home of Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito in 2024.

SBA administrator Kelly Loeffler, who was a former Republican U.S. senator from Georgia who ultimately lost her seat to Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) in 2021, posted a photo of the flag flying above the SBA building on her official X account last week.

"Today at SBA’s Flag Day Ceremony, we proudly raised a new AMERICAN MADE flag over our headquarters in Washington," she tweeted. "It is a privilege to serve under its Stars and Stripes - on behalf of the 34 million small businesses who represent the best of America."

Multiple SBA staffers anonymously confided to WIRED that they were personally caught off guard by the flag's display, and argued that the flying of a far-right political symbol above their building gives the false impression that the workers inside subscribe to the beliefs associated with it.

“It was pretty jarring to walk out of work and see that flag on the building, and it’s frustrating because it makes it seem like the agency as a whole supports what it has come to stand for, when that’s just not true,” one staffer said. “We’re proud to do work that supports, or at least is supposed to support, all Americans. The decision to raise that flag isn’t one that reflects the views of everyone at SBA.”

"That the Appeal to Heaven flag is being flown on a government building alongside the American flag should be shocking to anyone who doesn't wish to live in a theocracy,” George Washington University extremism researcher Jon Lewis told WIRED. “The contemporary usage of the Appeal to Heaven flag is synonymous with Christian nationalism, full stop."

Click here to read WIRED's full report (subscription required).

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