Idolatry and the Flag

During wartime, a state passed a law making it a crime to teach or distribute material designed to encourage disloyalty to the national or state government, or to create an attitude of refusal to salute the flag. Three members of a religious movement were prosecuted under it. One was accused of telling people it was wrong for the President to send young men overseas to fight, and that the sooner people stopped saluting the flag, the sooner there would be peace. The others handed out books and pamphlets teaching that saluting a flag broke God's commandments. All three were sentenced to prison until a peace treaty was declared, up to ten years. The defendants argued they had only communicated their religious beliefs, with no evil purpose and no danger to the government.