Indiana school tells teen to remove U.S. flag from truck. Instead, he got a bigger one

Earlier in March, 17-year-old Cameron Blasek reported to the principal's office at his high school in St. Leon, where he received what he called a "shocking" demand.

His East Central High School counselor and vice principal, he said, told him to remove the American flag fastened on the back of his blue Dodge pickup, or be written up for insubordination.

Blasek, who spoke with CBS-affiliated TV station WKRC Local 12 news, told reporters the flag hadn't been a problem all year. It was properly secured to his vehicle and followed the U.S. flag code. Blasek said he wanted to show pride for his country and pay respect to fallen American soldiers.

A school administrator asked Blasek, twice, to remove the flag or be disciplined, according to WKRC.

Student refused to remove flag from his vehicle

Blasek refused and stood his ground. The 17-year-old read to administrators from East Central High School's own student handbook, he said, arguing there were no rules against displaying the U.S. flag.

"The word 'flag' isn't even in there, aside from the flag twirling section," Blasek told WKRC.

News of the encounter spread quickly and by next morning, not only did Blasek arrive for school with the American flag attached to his vehicle but so did roughly two dozen other students, WKRC reports.

The school has since been on damage control after a social media post by Libs of TikTok describing Blasek's encounter went viral, receiving as much as 8.4 million views since March 8.

According to the social media post, administrators told Blasek the American flag might be considered "offensive" or "controversial" after the 17-year-old questioned school officials on why they wanted it removed — an accusation East Central High School principal Tom Black strongly denies, according to WKRC, telling reporters "no high school staff member or administrator insinuated that the flag of the United States was offensive."

School administrator addresses controversy

A letter from Black to parents, later shared by St. Lawrenceburg radio station Eagle Country 99.3 FM, addressed the controversy, calling it "a misunderstanding" and emphasized that the school encouraged "expressions of patriotism and pride."

"After careful consideration and in recognition of the importance of the U.S. flag as a symbol of unity and national identity, I am pleased to inform you that we are allowing the display of the U.S. flag by students in the East Central High School parking lot," the letter states.

Black later told ABC-affiliated TV station WCPO 9 in Cincinnati that the district was "deeply sorry for the misunderstandings and confusion that social media was creating" and that the school "would allow the U.S. Flag to be displayed, and would prohibit other flags if they were determined to be offensive."

Today, the American flag on Blasek's pickup is even louder than before after the owner of a Cincinnati sign shop, GCI Digital Imagaing, offered to custom vinyl wrap the 17-year-old's vehicle in red, white and blue. A second company in Seymour Indiana added a flagpole.

The addition "looks sweet" Blasek said on Facebook, who thanked the growing list of companies, friends, family and strangers showing him support.

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John Tufts covers trending news for the Indianapolis Star. Send him a news tip at [email protected]. Follow him on X at @JTuftsReports.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana teen gets pickup wrapped in American flag after going viral