College protesters desecrated an American flag during an anti-Donald Trump rally Friday at Wesleyan University following on the heels of similar demonstrations on campuses elsewhere this week in the wake of the Republican candidate’s presidential election.
Video recorded during the Friday afternoon rally shows one student holding the flag as another spray-paints it to read “AmeriKKKa,” an intentional misspelling meant to symbolize the prominence of white supremacy in the United States, one of the demonstrators told the Wesleyan Argus, a campus newspaper at the largely left-leaning Connecticut college.
The demonstrators, identified as Wesleyan students Yael Horowitz and Abby Cunniff, “told the crowd that they chose not to burn the flag out of respect for Veterans Day,” the Argus reported.
Flag burnings have been spotted at least twice during the course of anti-Trump demonstrations on college campuses elsewhere in the days since the GOP nominee defeated Democratic rival Hillary Clinton this week. A flag burning was witnessed during an anti-Trump protest Wednesday at American University in Washington, D.C., and another was set ablaze overnight Thursday at Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass., according to local media reports.
“This is a representation of America! We are going down in flames!” one AU student screamed during Wednesday’s protest, the Washington Post reported.
Beyond college campuses, anti-Trump protesters have waged demonstrations in major cities across the United States this week in reaction to the Republican’s win.
On Thursday, Mr. Trump said on Twitter it was “very unfair” that “professional protesters, incited by the media” were demonstrating the results of the election. On Friday, however, he had a more conciliatory tone, tweeting that he “love[s] the fact that the small groups of protesters last night have passion for our great country.”
Also on Friday, Mr. Trump’s spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, publicly denounced a parade being planned for the president-elect by members of a North Carolina Ku Klux Klan chapter, saying, “Mr. Trump and his team continue to disavow these groups and individuals and strongly condemn their message of hate.”
Mr. Trump previously garnered the support of former Klan leader David Duke as well as a KKK-affiliated newspaper, The Crusader, prior to defeating Mrs. Clinton in Tuesday’s race. His campaign denounced their support in both instances, but the candidate took heat when he didn’t immediately distance himself from Mr. Duke, a noted white nationalist and former KKK Imperial Wizard.
Police briefly detained then released two students during the course of Friday’s protest at Wesleyan for causing a public disturbance unrelated to the flag desecration, Captain Sean Moriarty of the Middletown Police Department told the Argus.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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