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Foreign Flags on US Soil: Vermont School Raises Somali Flag in Solidarity

Dmitri Bolt
Dmitri Bolt  |  December 10, 2025 5:30 PM

It seems these days Democrats are willing to fight for anyone but Americans. Following a $1 billion fraud scandal in Minnesota, perpetrated mainly by people of Somali descent, the large Somali population in the state came under intense scrutiny. Government officials also alleged that more than 50 percent of those Somali immigrants have fraudulent immigration documents, and began ramping up immigration operations in the state, mainly in Minneapolis. This caused those on the left to blame racism for the crackdown.

In solidarity with the Somali community, a rural Vermont school district decided to raise a flag in honor of Somali's. 

"We are raising the Somali flag this week in honor of our Somali youth and families in Winooski and Vermont," the Winooski School District said in a Facebook post on Dec. 5. "On Monday, we will be gathering to celebrate together and to learn more about our civil rights."

"I just don't understand why our K through 12 schools think this is the most important thing," Paul Dame, the chairman of the Vermont Republican Party, said. "I think most Vermonters, probably most Americans, want their schools to focus on reading, writing, and arithmetic, and not what flags get displayed outside the school. It seems like a huge waste of time."

Following intense social media backlash, the school district attempted to clean up its mess, by adding extra context to the move in a few follow-up posts. When that failed, they temporarily disabled their website.

"First, we want to assure our community that the United States flag remains in its proper place at the highest point, in full accordance with the U.S. Flag Code," the school's post read. "The Winooski School District has three flag masts: the U.S. flag on the top mast, the Vermont state flag on the second, and—this week—the Somali flag on the third."

"The Somali flag is being flown for one week as a gesture of support for our Somali students and families," the post continued. "Winooski is a proudly diverse community, and we are committed to recognizing and uplifting all of the cultures that make our district stronger."

The better thing to do by the school district would be to spell out exactly how the civil rights of Somali's are being violated. Furthermore, it is absolutely beneficial for children to learn about civil rights, especially how they apply in immigration cases, and, say, the importance of following the laws of the United States. So far, Democrats have only appeared outraged and have yet to offer a coherent reason for how the Trump administration is targeting a group based on the color of their skin.