Overview
- Video circulated widely showing an American flag flown upside down at a Somali Independence Day celebration in St. Cloud on July 3, prompting hundreds of online complaints and local outrage.
- St. Cloud police say they received calls that evening and an officer corrected the flag on a city pole before the program began; city officials report the issue was resolved at the event.
- The event organizer, Omar Podi of the nonprofit Internal Housing Assistant, apologized and said the display was unintentional and that he takes responsibility for the mistake.
- Councilmember Scott Brodeen publicly condemned the display and questioned how the error went unnoticed by organizers and elected officials who attended, while some residents remain skeptical of the accident explanation.
- The episode drew attention because the U.S. Flag Code advises the flag should not be displayed upside down except as a distress signal, it involved prominent sponsors and candidates, and it has added tension to broader local debates about oversight and community trust.