A Confederate flag and a flag co-opted by a white nationalist group (bearing the 13 stars and “1776”) were attached to two white pickup trucks alongside a banner for local restaurant, the Fish Store, in the Bayport-Blue Point Chamber of Commerce’s St. Patrick’s Day parade on Sunday, March 16.

Pictures of the flags were posted on social media and chamber members said they had the parade participant remove the Confederate flag after being alerted by community members.

“The chamber of commerce in no way condones or endorses such a display and once we were informed about it, we quickly asked for it to be removed,” said chamber president, Karl Auwaerter.

A statement was issued on The Fish Store’s social media accounts that said, “We’d like to say that in no way shape or form do we support this flag or its meaning.”

The statement went on to reaffirm the Needelman family’s devotion to the community: “Just to be clear this was not the doing of anyone from The Fish Store or Needelman Family.”

A “friend of a friend” was mentioned as the person who attached the flags to the trucks.

A one-minute video surfaced of a paradegoer’s interaction with the drivers of the pickup trucks bearing the flag asking if the Fish Store supported the Confederate flag and the question was met with laughter.

The drivers have not been positively identified, nor has their exact affiliation with the owners of The Fish Store been determined.