A construction company hired by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation is under fire after a Confederate flag was seen openly hanging off equipment along busy Route 2 in Fitchburg.
NBC10 Boston was sent video from Sunday night, taken by a cellphone in a car, showing the flag. MassDOT confirms it was displayed on a truck from Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, a subcontractor from Bloomfield, Connecticut.
MassDOT says it prohibits these kinds of displays and it told the company it would not be allowed to do any more work until the flag was taken down.
"Recently, one of our employees displayed a Confederate flag on a piece of company equipment," Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming said in a statement on Facebook. "Posting anything political or controversial goes against company policy and appropriate action has been taken with the employee."
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"I continue to urge the company to reassess their company policies and procedures, and ensure that there's no Confederate flag on any of their company assets, vehicles or buildings, recognizing that those that flag has hurt a number of families in this country," Bloomfield Town Councilor Kenneth McClary told NBC Connecticut.
The person who shot the video also sent NBC10 Boston a statement, saying they were "appalled, disgusted [and] enraged."
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"That flag is a symbol of hate," the person said. "True hate shouldn't be accepted anywhere. We as a people can say so much when it's our neighbors or a bumper sticker on a car, attempting to change minds and hearts. But flying it proudly on our state highways, byways, routes and streets demands a time to stand up and take action."
"That's an ill representation of Fitchburg's character," resident Steven Smith told NBC10 Boston Tuesday.
"I just think it's kind of disrespectful," said Kevin Benoit of Fitchburg. "It just surprised me, especially because Massachusetts is so liberal."
