Why Is This Illinois Home Displaying a U.S. Flag Upside Down?

Driving through a Rockford neighborhood recently and had to do a doubletake when I noticed the way someone was flying their American flag.

Why would someone fly their U.S. flag upside-down?

Without stopping by unannounced to the home of a complete stranger and asking them why they're flying an American flag inverted, we'll have to speculate the reason.

According to the U.S. Department of Defense website, there are some "do's and don'ts" on how you properly display the American flag and some of those include:

• Don't display outdoors during bad weather days.
• The flag should never be touching anything underneath it like the floor, water, or merchandise.
• Flag should be displayed on a flag staff that is upright and not leaning.

When it comes to flying an American flag inverted, the United States D.O.D. says it should "never be displayed upside down unless trying to convey a sign of distress or great danger."

The U.S. Code for "Respect for Flag" says the following:

The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.

While this is a guess, I would assume the flag is being flown upside at this home in protest and not because the resident feels their life or property is in immediate danger, but you never know.

What might someone be protesting by flying the U.S. flag upside-down?

The list of why someone displays their flag this way could be never-ending, but according to a recent news report, it could be flying upside-down because the resident is a conservative and feels like the country is going too far "left."  That's the reason a man in Maine said he flew his flag upside-down.

Several years earlier, a different Maine resident was flying his flag upside-down in protest of Donald Trump becoming president.

Another reason some Americans flew their U.S. flags upside down was in protest of Roe Vs. Wade being overturned in 2022.

Is it illegal to fly an American flag upside-down?

It's not illegal to fly the U.S. flag upside-down but it is a sign of disrespect, according to StarSpangledFlags.

In the movie The Last Castle, the upside-down flag was a major plot in the film.

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