Fort Pierce post office flies upside down flag, symbol of 'Stop the Steal' election deniers

FORT PIERCE — A star-spangled banner flew upside down Wednesday at the United States Post Office on Orange Avenue, days after U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito faced criticism for years-old pictures of the same sight at his home.

The upside-down American flag has been a symbol used by "Stop the Steal," groups backing false conspiracy theories that the 2020 presidential election actually was won by former President Donald Trump, only to be stolen by President Joe Biden.

The photographs of the flag at Alito's home were taken three days before Biden's inauguration, about two months after the election and less than two weeks after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, led by supporters of false election-denial theories. The photos were first reported by the New York Times last week. Alito said his wife arranged the flag that way.

It is unclear how long the flag flew upside down outside of the post office in Fort Pierce, or who was responsible. A POW-MIA flag, honoring prisoners of war and soldiers missing in action, was flying correct-side-up just below the upside-down American flag Wednesday.

Management at the post office, which is a federal building, declined to comment Wednesday, directing all questions to a spokesperson. Debra Jean Fetterly, USPS spokesperson for South Florida, said she would call the local postmaster to inquire about the flag.

"The U.S. Postal Service takes pride in displaying the American flag at its facilities," Fetterly later said in an email. "We appreciate being made aware of this situation, which appears to be an unintended error and which local management is investigating. As soon as we became aware, the issue was immediately corrected, and the U.S. flag is now flying properly. We sincerely apologize for this inadvertent occurrence."

St. Lucie County narrowly voted for Trump with just over 50% of the vote in 2020. However, a majority of Fort Pierce voters backed Biden, including more than 75% of voters in the precinct where the Orange Avenue post office is located and more than 92% in the precinct with boundaries that begin just across the street.

Meanwhile, about a mile east on Orange Avenue, a hearing was under way at the Alto Lee Adams Sr., U.S. Courthouse, where attorneys for Trump were once again asking U.S. District Court Judge Aileen M. Cannon to throw out charges against him in a case about his retention and storage of classified federal documents at Mar-a-Lago, his home and club in Palm Beach. Trump was not in attendance.

Wicker Perlis is TCPalm's Watchdog Reporter for St. Lucie County. You can reach him at wicker.perlis@tcpalm.com and 504-331-0516.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Mistake or pro-Trump symbol? Post office flies its U.S. flag upside down