An Iraq war veteran named Vito Congine Jr., living in the village of Crivitz, Wis. (pop. 1,000), was flying his American flag upside down to protest a village board decision to not grant him a liquor license for his restaurant. An upside down flag is a symbol for “distress,” which in Congine’s case means “if I don’t get a liquor license, the $200,000 restaurant I’m building will bankrupt me, so you suck, Crivitz Village Board.”

The flag’s been upside down since the middle of June, but due to complaints, right before a Fourth of July parade, the local police came onto Congine’s property and removed the flag, returning it a day later. And now The American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin might sue, saying "It is not often that you see something this blatant." From The Washington Post:

• Hours before a Fourth of July parade, four police officers went to Congine's property and removed the flag under the advice of Marinette County District Attorney Allen Brey.
• Neighbor Steven Klein watched in disbelief.
• "I said, 'What are you doing?' Klein said. "They said, 'It is none of your business.'"
• … Marinette County Sheriff Jim Kanikula said it was not illegal to fly the flag upside down but people were upset and it was the Fourth of July. "It is illegal to cause a disruption," he said.

Isn’t it nice to see some small-town Wisconsin news in a big, fancy newspaper like the The Washington Post?