Far-Right ‘Appeal to Heaven’ Flag Flown Above Government Agency in DC

A controversial “Appeal to Heaven” flag that has recently become associated with the “Stop the Steal” movement and Christian nationalism was flown above the Small Business Administration (SBA) agency last week in Washington, DC.

On June 11, Kelly Loeffler, the former senator from Georgia and current administrator of the SBA, participated in a ceremony where a new flag of the United States was raised over the agency’s headquarters. Just beneath that flag, on what appeared to be the same halyard, was an Appeal to Heaven flag. Sources tell WIRED that the “Appeal to Heaven” flag was raised for less than a day.

Though the flag’s roots date to the Revolutionary War, in recent years it has become a popular symbol for the far right. The Appeal to Heaven flag was waved by January 6 rioters at the Capitol in 2021 and has become associated with President Donald Trump’s supporters who deny the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. The flag has also been linked to Christian nationalists, who believe that the US should be a Christian nation rather than a secular one.

“That the Appeal to Heaven flag is being flown on a government building alongside the American flag should be shocking to anyone who doesn't wish to live in a theocracy,” says Jon Lewis, a research fellow at the Program on Extremism at George Washington University. “The contemporary usage of the Appeal to Heaven flag is synonymous with Christian nationalism, full stop.”

“Those who carried the Appeal to Heaven flag to the Capitol on January 6 did so because they truly believed they had the opportunity to inject Christian fundamentalism into the very foundation of our democracy, and the image of the same flag on the SBA will give them ample evidence they succeeded,” Lewis adds.

Other Republicans have previously shared their support for the Appeal to Heaven flag. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has displayed the flag outside of his office, and the flag was controversially flown outside of associate justice of the Supreme Court Samuel Alito’s vacation home in New Jersey. In an interview with the Associated Press, Johnson said he did not know that the flag was associated with election deniers. In a letter to lawmakers last year, Alito said the same thing. (Alito also came under fire for the flying of an upside-down American flag at his home in Virginia. An upside-down flag is a distress signal that has, in recent years, become associated with right-wing protesters).

In a June 11 post on her X account, Loeffler wrote, “Today at SBA’s Flag Day Ceremony, we proudly raised a new AMERICAN MADE flag over our headquarters in Washington. It is a privilege to serve under its Stars and Stripes - on behalf of the 34 million small businesses who represent the best of America.” The post, which includes a photograph of the Appeal to Heaven flag and photographs of Loeffler and others seemingly looking up at both flags, is still up.

It’s unclear who was responsible for flying the controversial flag. One SBA staffer who spoke to WIRED on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press says that they saw the flag while leaving the office that day, and it appeared to have been taken down by the next morning.

“It was pretty jarring to walk out of work and see that flag on the building, and it’s frustrating because it makes it seem like the agency as a whole supports what it has come to stand for, when that’s just not true,” they say. “We’re proud to do work that supports, or at least is supposed to support, all Americans. The decision to raise that flag isn’t one that reflects the views of everyone at SBA.”

“I think it would’ve concerned more people if they knew what [the flag] was associated with,” says a second SBA staffer, who also asked to remain anonymous, of the Appeal to Heaven flag.

Loeffler briefly served as the Republican senator from Georgia after being appointed to the seat by Governor Brian Kemp in 2020. She lost her bid for reelection in 2021 to then-Democratic senate candidate Raphael Warnock. In the wake of Trump’s loss to former president Joe Biden, Loeffler called on Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s secretary of state, to resign, falsely alleging that he had “failed to deliver honest and transparent elections.” Before she eventually certified the results of the 2020 election, Leoffler refused to fully answer questions about whether Trump had lost the election. In February, after she cochaired his inaugural committee, Trump selected her to serve as administrator for the SBA.

Loeffler and the SBA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.