Vendors selling Trump, Confederate flags at community market spark outrage

A community market in central Pennsylvania has received complaints after a vendor sold President Donald Trump memorabilia, as well as the Confederate flag. According to the Mount Union Borough Council manager, she was shocked that most of the incoming complaints were in regard to a Trump flag, and not the Flag of the Confederate States of America.

Every Friday afternoon, Mount Union's Community Market features local produce, baked goods, crafts, and food vendors. However, according to WTAJ, there was a new addition to the community market last week —a vendor who was selling both a President Trump flag and a Confederate flag.

“In this small town it’s normally nothing but love, but I couldn’t see why you would come after a vendor at a community market for any reason,” Patrick Walker, a resident of Mount Union, told the station, adding that the vendor was exercising his constitutional right of free speech.

“It’s a two way street, if you are going to shut down one vendor, make it so that no political stuff is there,” Walker said.

Sue Zinobile, Borough Manager, however, said that the complaint caught her off guard — simply because most of the complaints were directed at the President Trump flag instead of the Confederate flag.

“Most of the complaints I heard was about the Trump flag and not the Confederate flag and I found that really rather shocking,” Zinobile said.

Zinobile went on to say that while the sale of such flags is something that the Mount Union Council could not really restrict, it is something they would "definitely discourage."

According to Zinobile, every vendor at the market must submit paperwork to the Borough to be approved to sell at the community market. She is unaware if the person selling the flags took the necessary steps, as she has not seen the person before. Zinobile said that she would make sure the vendor went through the proper channels to sell at the community market. If not, they will have to fill out the appropriate paperwork before being allowed to sell there again.