Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis was a guest on Henry Hinton’s Talk of the Town program on Tuesday, April 2. The interview aired across the east on 103.7 WTIB and 96.3 WRHT.

According to a release, Lemonis believes that the Greenville ordinance violates state laws, however, he did not state which specific statutes he was referring to. Lemonis also stated that if the City of Greenville sues him and he loses, he will still refuse to take down his flag even if that results in jail time.

The city of Greenville is moving forward with legal action against Camping World, following a contentious city council vote. The decision to file a lawsuit was passed by a narrow 4-2 margin during Monday’s meeting, highlighting a division among council members.

When Hinton asked Lemonis why he believes the ordinance is in violation of state law he gave this response:

They (the council) should probably do a little research on the statutes in the state of North Carolina.

Lemonis also told Hinton that one of his two Greenville locations closed on Friday. Lemonis’s reasoning for this closure of one of the locations is employees at the Forest River RV location were notified that they were closing due to the controversy created by the council, per a release.

We think the ordinance is wrong,” said Lemonis. “ I think it’s also wrong council members have been working very actively to disparage my business and on Friday I had to consolidate modification of 2 dealerships in town. The main one that you’re referring to and another one of Greenville-and we had to close that – our business which has been unfortunately impacted uniquely in Greenville.

Hinton then made a proposal to Lemonis that Lemonis and Camping World can make a $50,000 donation to Maynard Children’s Hospital in Greenville in lieu of fines, if the city agrees to change the ordinance to let Lemonis keep his flag up. Lemonis replied he would make the donation but said he did not want it to be a quid pro quo in exchange for the ordinance change, per a release.

The merits of the Children’s Hospital stand on their own and anytime an organization like that that’s trying to do good things and actually doing good things they’re deserving of a contribution so I’d be happy to make a donation but I don’t do that – take my word on that -but I would I would prefer not to have it be a quid pro quo.

For the full interview, click here.