Creator of mosquito-themed state flag says design was a joke

JACKSON, MS (AP) — A Mississippi man who submitted a proposal to place a giant mosquito on the new state flag says he created the design as a joke.

Thomas Rosete told the Clarion Ledger on Thursday that he created the mosquito flag to poke fun at a coworker who had been against changing the banner.

Working on the Yazoo River as a deckhand, Rosete says he is very familiar with Mississippi mosquitoes. He says it felt like a fitting way to represent the state.

The design went viral on social media.

Lawmakers took a historic vote this year to take down the old state flag.

The old banner featured the Confederate battle flag, a symbol widely condemned as racist.