GOP Official Responds After 9/11 Float Draws Criticism at Parade in Indiana

A float featuring “smoking” replicas of the two World Trade Center towers drew criticism after it was featured in a Valparaiso, Indiana, parade on September 11, prompting local GOP officials who sponsored it to issue a statement of regret.

The float, which also paid homage to service members killed in an August suicide attack in Afghanistan with cups of corn kernels, was part of Saturday’s Popcorn Festival in Valparaiso, located about 40 miles southeast of Chicago.

In a statement posted to Facebook, Porter County Republican Party chairman Michael Simpson said they “wished no disrespect and regret that our tribute to the lives lost and those who continue to serve was to some perceived in bad taste.” Credit: Alma Santiago via Storyful