Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) was characteristically furious at the guilty verdict delivered against former President Donald Trump in a Manhattan courtroom on Thursday, where the ex-president faced dozens of criminal charges of falsifying business records in connection to pre-2016 election hush money for a woman named Stormy Daniels.
Part of Greene’s response was a post to her official account on Twitter with an American flag turned upside down, imagery characterized sometimes as emblematic of national distress. It was also used, notably, by the “Stop the Steal” movement and present at the Capitol riot in early 2021, spurring controversy when reports then revealed that an upside down American flag also flew outside a residence of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. Alito credits the display to his wife.
“Cry more, Marjorie. The rule of law prevailed today,” said activist Harry Sisson in reply to Greene’s post. Activist Fred Guttenberg pointedly posted a screenshot of Greene’s post in which he’d reversed its orientation, turning the American flag right side up again. A Democratic Congressional candidate in Greene’s Georgia district also posted a reversed image of the flag, meaning it was displayed normally. And so did Mark Pocan, a Democratic member of Congress from Wisconsin.
Elsewhere in the GOP, among the leading voices to rush to Trump’s defense were Speaker of the House Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). The latter went after jurors in the case, complaining about the supposed political bias of the local jury pool, although there is already a precedent of concern that such individuals could be exposed to possible threats and violence. It wasn’t out of the blue that Trump was put under a gag order blocking public comments about witnesses, jurors, and others. And now, the ex-president — a convicted felon — is apparently heading towards sentencing, though appeals remain forthcoming.
