United States: Images of upside-down American flags have steadily appeared on social media following Donald Trump’s historic guilty verdict. Trump’s supporters and right-wing commentators are using these images to protest his felony conviction.
As the former president of the United States, a Republican, discussed the trial on Friday, at least one of these flags was seen outside Trump Tower in New York City. Along with his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., and longstanding ally, Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, the former president’s daughter-in-law and co-chair of the Republican National Committee, have been posting pictures of inverted flags on the internet.
Following the historic guilty verdict for Donald Trump, his followers and right-wing commentators have been criticizing his felony sentence on social media with a constant stream of graphics depicting upside-down American flags.
The inverted American flag has garnered significant attention following the disclosure that it was flown outside the residence of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in Alexandria, Virginia, following the Capitol attack on January 6, 2021, which was carried out by Trump supporters with the intention of blocking the certification of the results of the 2020 presidential election. The rioters were waving a banner similar to that, echoing Trump’s baseless accusations of electoral fraud.
The conservative research group Heritage Foundation likewise shared a photo of an upside-down American flag floating next to a flag with its logo on its X account. The organization responsible for the GOP’s Project 2025 playbook, which outlines potential changes to the federal government in the event that Republicans win the presidency in 2024, is called Heritage.