WASHINGTON: Upside-down American flags emerged outside homes and on social media on Friday (May 31) in support of Donald Trump after a New York jury returned a historic guilty verdict against the former Republican president.
Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and country music singer Jason Aldean were among the prominent Americans to display the inverted flag, a symbol of distress or protest in America for over 200 years.
The symbol, popular among some avid Trump supporters since his 2020 election defeat, exploded across pro-Trump social media accounts after he was convicted on Thursday of falsifying documents to cover up a hush money payment to a porn star to illegally influence the 2016 election.
Minutes after the verdict Greene, a Trump loyalist, posted an inverted US flag on her X account. By Friday afternoon more than 8 million people had viewed it.
Aldean posted an inverted flag on his Instagram account, saying: “Scary times in our country right now, man.” He added: “If there was ever a time to speak up, ITS NOW! Make no mistake. We are in trouble.”
Don Tapia, a former Trump ambassador to Jamaica and a Republican donor, flew an inverted flag outside his Arizona home. He said he had received phone calls of support and that motorists had honked as they drove by. “Will switch back Sunday to regular flag,” he told Reuters by text message.
Dan Bongino, a conservative radio talk show host who interviewed Trump on his show on Wednesday, posted an inverted US flag on his X account after the verdict. It had received 250,000 views by mid-afternoon on Friday.
A Miami chapter of the Proud Boys, a far-right militant group, posted an inverted flag on the message channel Telegram, as did a similar group called Patriot Voice, with the words: “In dire distress.”
On pro-Trump corners of the internet, some supporters called for riots, revolution and violent retribution.
