Until last month, when Congress restored its cachet by making it a criminal offense, flag burning had virtually gone out of style as a means of radical protest. Now desecrating the Stars and Stripes has become a bit of a fad. Last week four demonstrators staged a torching on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. Among the participants: Gregory Lee Johnson, whose conviction for setting fire to a flag at the 1984 Republican Convention led to a Supreme Court ruling upholding the constitutionality of the practice. Said Johnson: "We're back."
The burning was designed to produce a quick challenge to the...
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