I can see that license plate coming from a quarter-mile out. Hazard yellow glaring like a traffic warning sign. A bit closer I see the image of a coiled serpent body, its rattle-tail, its viper tongue flicked out – and then that insolent motto ‘DON’T TREAD ON ME’. Another Montana Gadsden flag license plate, this one affixed to a big, tactical-looking black pickup truck, putting its fellow travelers on notice that seditionists live (and drive) amongst us.
I first spotted this specialty plate in 2017, the unfortunate inaugural year for both the plate and Trump. Already, the Gadsden flag tripped my personal alarm through its misappropriated use by the Tea Party movement, gun rights advocates, Bundy Clan militias, and the deadly alt-right rallies in Portland, OR and Charlottesville, VA.
In my worldview, a symbol now conflated with anti-government sentiment had no business being on any state-issued license plate. Maybe (I naively thought) with the nearly 200 specialty plates offered by the Montana Motor Vehicle Division (MVD), demand for the Gadsden flag plate would fade out to the point of extinction. But that’s not what I was seeing on the road; there seemed to be more and more every month, every year, even in the blue citadel of Missoula, Montana.
Curious, I studied MVD’s specialty plate reports to see if my impressions were right. Indeed, Gadsden flag plate registrations and revenue show steady increases for MVD and the plate’s sponsor organization, The 1776 Foundation. Below are simple line charts I created of count and revenue over time (FY 2018-2023) confirming this trajectory. The plate varies in rank as #10 or #11 of most popular specialty plates offered by MVD. Granted, Montana is a small population state (~1.12 million), but there are now over 100,000 of these plates dog-whistling down Montana highways. However, the Big Sky state is not an outlier: Gadsden flag specialty plates are also available in several other states, including Alabama, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.
The availability of Gadsden flag license plates in my state aggravates the hell out of me. Not because it “owns this lib,” but because the symbology of the flag has changed from its Revolutionary War-era context into something ominous and threatening. The flag is now an incendiary political symbol embraced by right-wing extremists, from MAGA to Oath Keepers to Neo-Nazis to January 6 insurrectionists. I would argue the Gadsden flag license plate doesn’t meet the qualifications for a Montana specialty plate. Montana code states that a sponsor organization’s plate cannot:
…“have as its primary focus sectarian activities, including but not limited to activities aimed at promoting the adoption of one or more religious or political viewpoints.” (MT Code 61-3-473)
…”invoke connotations offensive to good taste and decency.” (MT Code 61-3-475)
[Editor’s note: statutory definitions of “good taste” or “decency” do not exist in MT Code]
The whole point of the original Gadsden flag was to proclaim a political viewpoint! The flag’s namesake, Christopher Gadsden, a South Carolina slave trader and politician, designed the flag in 1775 for the Commander of the Navy. The flag was a taunt and warning to British oppressors threatening the liberties of its own citizens. The flag featured a coiled and ready-to-strike timber rattlesnake, a species unique to North America. Benjamin Franklin lauded the timber rattler as an emblem of the American spirit for its vigilance, assertiveness, courage, and individualism. The original message of the Gadsden flag was to unite the colonies against the tyranny of an outside oppressor. Those who now fly the flag believe our federal government is the oppressor.
“On the Gadsden flag we have a snake, and it says, ‘Don’t tread on me.’ We’re gonna flip that around. What we want to become, what we will become, we are going to be like a den of rattlesnakes,” Bundy said. “We will be so venomous if our rights are even threatened one bit!” ~~Ammon Bundy, at a 2020 anti-vax rally in Emmett, ID
If the co-opting of the Gadsden flag from a historical symbol of American unity (albeit with a racist take) to a symbol of right-wing hate and insurgency isn’t cause to drop this plate, let’s cast a bit of light on the plate’s sponsor organization, The 1776 Foundation, a Billings, Montana nonprofit founded in 2015. Their mission is:
“…..to inform and equip the people of Montana to better evaluate policy options that uphold traditional American values, historic civil liberties, the Montana Constitution, and the Constitution of the United States of America.”
Their main program, besides the Gadsden flag license plates (“Support the great work of the 1776 Foundation while proudly displaying your support for freedom!”), is printing and distributing free copies of the Montana Constitution and Bill of Rights to educators, parents, and the public. Their annual reports show nearly 100% of their revenue comes from these plates (e.g., $126,070 in 2022). But look! The 1776 Foundation’s license plate program liaison and one of its three Directors is one Jacob Eaton, a prominent Montana Republican who served as GOP Governor Greg Gianforte’s campaign manager, was former Executive Director of the Montana Republican Party, and served as Chief of Staff to former U.S. Representative Denny Rehberg.
(Raises eyebrows) And Mr. Eaton owns Ultra Graphics, a print shop in Billings where I would wager all those constitutions and Bill of Rights cards are printed. Shocking isn’t it that a well-known, anti-government Republican would self-deal all that sweet, sweet government program cash? Jake has expanded his specialty plate empire, now partnering with MVD on a more sinister-looking Gadsden flag license plate, this one sponsored by the Montana Public Policy Center (though at a higher renewal cost than The 1776 Foundation version). Ol’ Jake is listed as the organization’s contact and their website is “currently in development.” Jake is obviously busy upholding traditional American values while perfecting Trumpian grift.
I know I’ve circled the message a bit thus far, but to bring it home:
Be like Benjamin Franklin’s rattlesnake – vigilant and unified. If you live in a state that offers a Gadsden flag license plate, look into the statutes and rules that govern the program. Does the Gadsden flag as a present-day symbol of insurrection, sedition, and, yes, racism violate these rules? If so, tell your elected officials the flag is inappropriate for government issue. Like the Confederate battle flag with all its dreadful baggage, it should be banished from the public square.
Scrutinize the organizations sponsoring Gadsden flag plates. Do they meet the qualifications of a specialty plate sponsor? Do their activities align with their mission? Anything nefarious going on behind the scenes? If so, sound the alarm.
I have thought about how difficult it would be to put the Gadsden flag genie back in the bottle in Montana. It is a libertarian-heavy state and a legal challenge to scrap the plate would be a First Amendment quagmire. However, if Gadsden flag plates continue to wave in Montana, I may have to offer up a Gadsden flag specialty plate of my own, in which case, I better get busy starting that Rattlesnakes for Snowflakes nonprofit.
