Anti-Trump Protesters Stomping on US Flag Fuel Outrage at Rallies
While Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has faced opposition for his stances from a variety of activist groups, one has been protesting his rallies by stomping on the U.S. flag and is drawing controversy for its antics.
Fox News reported on Tuesday that the group, which calls itself the profanity-laced name "[Expletive] Your Flag Tour," has been showing up at Trump rallies, most recently on Sunday at a rally in West Allis, Wisconsin, where its members stand and stomp on top of the flag.
The members of the group have said that one of their main messages is standing up against the oppression of black people. One member, who wasn't identified, explained that the group has been protesting at Trump events because of the billionaire businessman's initial refusal to denounce support from former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.
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The group has added, however, that it is not only protesting Trump, but also the "entire political system, including Hillary Clinton."
The flag-stomping antics, which have been posted online, have been drawing controversy, however, with Fox News reporting that there were 'heated exchanges' at the West Allis rally.
One man who tried to retrieve the flag shouted: "My brother is fighting overseas for that flag, pick it up."
Another woman at the rally said: "I'm married to a black man and am not voting Trump but would never step on the flag. I respect my country and I respect my flag."
There has been violence and unrest at several of Trump's campaign events, though some outspoken voices, such as Pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church in Dallas, have placed the blame on the "hypocrisy of liberalism."
Speaking about a protest at the University of Chicago last month, Jeffress said: "These were not spontaneous peaceful protests, this was an organized effort by liberal groups like MoveOn.org, to limit and restrict Trump's First Amendment rights of freedom of expression. I don't think Americans like that at all, and all it does is show the hypocrisy of liberalism."
"Those people who cry tolerance the loudest are usually the most intolerant people when it comes to ideas they disagree with. And the reason this concerns me as a pastor is that the same people who want to restrict political speech they find offensive also want to restrict religious speech that they find offensive," he added.
Trump, the GOP frontrunner, meanwhile lost the race for the Wisconsin primary on Tuesday, where he came in second place with 35 percent of the vote to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who won 48 percent support.
"Tonight is a turning point," Cruz said after his victory. "It is a rallying cry. It is a call from the hard-working men and women of Wisconsin to the people of America: we have a choice. A real choice."
