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Upside Down Flag Protests Over Election Sparking Controversy

DORSEYVILLE (KDKA) -- It is becoming a growing form of protest over the outcome of the Presidential Election; people flying the American Flag upside down. But now those protests are sparking a protest of their own.

On rooftops or front porches, our flag is displayed as a symbol of our national pride.

Larry Guerrieri fought beneath the flag in Vietnam, but outside his Dorseyville home Thursday it was flying upside down.

"That's a sign of distress; this country is in distress right now," said Guerrieri.

Guerrieri makes no effort to hide his feelings about President Barack Obama.

"This Benghazi incident, he left them four people there to die," says Guerrieri. "That's the way I feel about it."

So, his flag flies protest.

Flag Plaza is where the National Flag Foundation is housed.

"The flag is flown upside down in times of distress," said Clark Rogers, the acting director of the National Flag Foundation.

Rogers says to fly it in protest risks angering veterans.

"No question about that, veterans are very tender about that flag," he says. "They fought for that flag; their buddies sacrificed for the flag."

But Guerrieri and Bill Rodgers, who put his upside down flag back in his yard Thursday in Bellevue, feel strongly that the country is in trouble and the President is only making it worse.

"It will stay there for four years," says Guerrieri.

"A couple of days, probably till we get to the weekend," added Rodgers.

Whether you agree with the sentiment or not it is protected as free speech by the Constitution. And apparently, this is nothing new. People have been flying flags upside down after elections for years.

RELATED LINKS:
Local Voters Hoping For Cooperation In Washington D.C. (11/7/12)
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