INDIANAPOLIS – A veteran, wearing an American Legion hat and a folded flag, kneeled as President Donald Trump’s motorcade traveled in Indianapolis on Wednesday.
Marvin Boatright said as the motorcade passed his family’s funeral home, he wanted to make a statement, according to the Huffington Post.
“As a veteran, and as an African-American, we have already and we continue to serve for God and country,” Boatright said to the Huffington Post. “But you can have a love of God and country and still be against social injustice. You don’t have to separate one from the other. For the commander in chief to call our citizens ‘sons of a b....s’ was totally wrong and beneath the dignity of the office that he holds.”
He said he was hoping someone part of the motorcade would notice him – and they did. Reuters photographer Jonathan Ernst captured the moment that has since went viral on social media.
A man kneels with a folded U.S. flag as the POTUS motorcade passes him in Indianapolis. (Photo: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst) pic.twitter.com/KrBlzhauai
— Colin Campbell (@colincampbell) September 28, 2017
“The issues that affect our nation can be seen and made visible through sports,” Boatright said to the Huffington Post. “We need to get our racial equality act together, especially as it relates to police action and shootings around our nation. ... [The protests] were never about disrespecting our nation or the flag, which we hold so dear.”