Army vet who knelt before Trump shares why, you know, protests are important

NFL teams and celebrities have been taking a knee all week long, but a military veteran's kneel on Wednesday caught everyone's attention.

Marvin Boatright kneeled while carrying a folded American flag and wearing his American Legion cap as President Trump drove by in his motorcade on the way to a speech on tax reform in Indiana.

SEE ALSO: 97-year-old WWII veteran takes a knee in support of black athletes' right to protest

The moment was captured in a photo and has been circulating online since the patriotic protest.

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HuffPostspoke with Boatright about his decision to take a knee in front of the president. He told the news outlet he was sending a message that you can love this country and be against social injustice — at the same time. "You don’t have to separate one from the other," he said.

The protest started last year, with former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick taking a knee during the national anthem to protest police brutality toward black people. Last week, when Trump said, "Get that son of a bitch off the field right now," the protest began to spread throughout the NFL and beyond.

Boatright explained that Trump's harsh language had prompted him to kneel with the flag. "We love this flag. But we also love life and liberty for all humanity," said the army vet, who served from 1974 to 1976.

Protesting is patriotic, as Boatright clearly showed.

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