Chuck D and Public Enemy Radio performed at a Senator Bernie Sanders’ rally in Los Angeles on March 1. However, when it was announced that Public Enemy would be performing at the rally, a lawyer for Flavor Flav sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Sanders campaign. Soon after, it was announced that Flavor Flav had been fired from the group that he co-founded with Chuck D in 1985. 

The story starts with Flav’s lawyer, Matthew Friedman, accusing Sanders of using “unauthorized likeness, image and trademarked clock” to promote the rally, even though Flavor Flav “has not endorsed any political candidate.”
The letter also stated, “While Chuck is certainly free to express his political view as he sees fit — his voice alone does not speak for Public Enemy. The planned performance will only be Chuck D of Public Enemy, it will not be a performance by Public Enemy. Those who truly know what Public Enemy stands for know what time it is. There is no Public Enemy without Flavor Flav.”
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The letter continued, “Flav … has not endorsed any political candidate in this election cycle. … The continued publicizing of this grossly misleading narrative is, at a minimum, careless and irresponsible if not intentionally misleading… It is unfortunate that a political campaign would be so careless with the artistic integrity of such iconoclastic figures in American culture.”

According to USA Today, Jolyn Matsumuro, a spokeswoman for Chuck D and Public Enemy, said, "Public Enemy and Public Enemy Radio will be moving forward without Flavor Flav.  We thank him for his years of service and wish him well."

Chuck D also wrote on Twitter, “So I don’t attack FLAV on what he don’t know. I gotta leave him at the crib so y’all trying to fill his persona with some political aplomb is absolutely‘stupid’ Obviously I understand his craziness after all this damn time. Duh you don’t know him from a box of cigars or me either.”

Chuck dismissed the idea that Flav being fired had anything to do with Sen. Bernie Sanders, “It’s not about BERNIE with Flav... he don’t know the difference between BarrySanders or BernieSanders he don’t know either. FLAV refused to support @Sankofa after @harrybelafonte inducted us."

Flavor Flav’s released another statement that read, "Flav reached out in the interest of unity, supporting Chuck's right to speak his mind but without unnecessarily misleading the public. Unfortunately, for the time being, Chuck has opted to fire off an increasingly unhinged series of tweets, including one where Chuck regards Flav as property (a car) he can park until he is ready to use him again.”
The statement closed with, “Chuck may own the name Public Enemy, but all you had to do was look at the masses of clock-wearing fans pouring out of the rally ... to know that there is no Public Enemy without Flavor Flav."
Chuck D now remains the only founding member in Public Enemy.