Conservatives scoff at attempt to take colonial-era flag and connect Justice Alito to 'MAGA battle flag'

Conservatives slammed liberal politicians and members of the media for branding an enduring and popular Revolutionary War-era flag as a "MAGA battle flag," in their attempt to tie Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito to rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6.

The head of a prominent conservative organization, along with multiple conservatives on social media, rebutted the attempt to call the flag a Jan. 6 symbol and link Alito to the riot. They pointed to the flag’s history as a patriotic symbol flown by Americans living in the thirteen colonies, and its more modern appearances – like it being on a 1968 U.S. postage stamp, and 2019 appearance at San Francisco City Hall – as proof it’s not a MAGA symbol of insurrection.

"This is just one of many historic American flags out there. And they're trying to parlay it, through some kind of, you know, conspiracy theorist guilt by association thing into somehow he's, he's supporting, insurrectionists or something," Judicial Crisis Network President Carrie Severino told Fox News Digital when asked about the critique.

ALITO SAYS WIFE DISPLAYED UPSIDE-DOWN FLAG AFTER ARGUMENT WITH INSULTING NEIGHBOR

The media reported the story earlier this week, when The New York Times noted that "another provocative symbol was displayed at [Alito’s] vacation house in New Jersey, according to interviews and photographs" last summer.

The New York Times stated, "This time, it was the ‘Appeal to Heaven’ flag, which, like the inverted U.S. flag, was carried by rioters at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Also known as the Pine Tree flag, it dates back to the Revolutionary War, but largely fell into obscurity until recent years and is now a symbol of support for former President Donald J. Trump, for a religious