Confederate Flag Patch Puts South Jersey Lawmaker At Center Of Controversy Again

A South Jersey politician who came under fire for sexist tweets earlier this year finds himself at the center of controversy once again. This time, Atlantic County Freeholder John Carman is in the spotlight for a Confederate Flag patch he wears on his American Legion Riders jacket.

His opponent in his upcoming re-election bid pointed out that he wears the patch on Wednesday. Atlantic County Freeholder District 3 candidate Ashley Bennett called the flag a “symbol of hatred, intolerance, and bigotry” in a statement. Bennett is running as a Democrat against the Republican Freeholder from Egg Harbor Township.

"As a woman of color, I had a deep, visceral reaction to the images I saw. I honestly could not even believe it,” Bennett said. … “The fact that Freeholder Carman believes this is appropriate conduct for an elected official in New Jersey in the year 2017 is outrageous.”

However, Carman told New Jersey 101.5 the patch — in which the top half of the state is an American flag and the bottom half is a Confederate flag — wasn’t created with any racial overtones. It was meant to mock the political divide between North Jersey — where he says the politicians try to keep all the money for themselves — and South Jersey, which he called “orphans who seem to get left out of a lot of things.”

In Bennett’s statement, she said the patch made it appear as though the people of South Jersey “encourage hate, division and intolerance, which we don’t We treat everyone with respect!”

“I’ve worn that jacket to honor veterans of all races during funeral processions,” he told the Press of Atlantic City. “Given what has happened recently, I should have considered taking it off, but it’s been on there so long I honestly didn’t think about it.” He also said he would be removing the patch.

Carman is the second New Jersey lawmaker to come under fire for an association with the Confederate Flag in less than two months.

In August, a picture of Assemblyman Parker Space (R-24) standing in front of a Confederate Flag with the face of Hank Williams Jr. on it, according to nj.com. The picture was taken at a Hank Williams Jr. concert. In that case, Space expressed surprise that the picture became an issue and asked “When is this stuff going to end?”

Carman is no stranger to controversy. In January, he drew some ire for a post on his personal Facebook page that asked “Will the women’s protest be over in time for them to cook dinner?” as millions of women across the country and around the world marched for their rights following President Donald Trump’s inauguration. At the time, he said the post was meant to be a joke.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 7.

Photo by Ty Wright/Getty Images News/Getty Images