NPR is warning their fellow leftists about Florida's newest license plates that ring freedom.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla) announced his state's new license plates will feature a coiled rattlesnake and the words "Don't Tread on Me," in his latest effort to tout Florida's pro-America stance.
NPR's Scott Neuman is sounding the alarm that the Gadsden flag, which has dates back to the Revolutionary War, is associated with "far-right extremist ideology."
"The imagery of the Revolutionary War-era Gadsden flag dates to Benjamin Franklin but has, for many, come to symbolize a far-right extremist ideology and the 'Stop the Steal' movement that sought to overturn the 2020 presidential election results," Neuman claimed.
NPR needs a lesson in history because the phrase "don't tread on me" was designed by Christopher Gadsden during the American Revolution and was originally associated with colonists fighting for independence from Britain.
Neuman continued to say the symbol has "reopened the debate" over the flag's controversy and that the flag has been used for some "really awful" causes, which the article cites an example of the January 6 protests.
DeSantis tweeted an image of the new license plate, saying it "sends a clear message to out-of-state cars."
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) July 30, 2022
By the end of the article, Neuman seemed to come to his senses and acknowledged that both the flag and the motto are protected under the First Amendment.
"Extreme or not, First Amendment scholars such as Eugene Volokh of the UCLA School of Law say the Gadsden flag and the 'Don't Tread on Me' motto are legitimate — and protected — speech, whether they are on a flag waving inside the besieged U.S. Capitol or on a vehicle license plate heading down a Florida highway," Neuman wrote.