50 years ago in Expo history: A trial was underway following a flag-burning near the fair, but not for the constitutional implications

Young protesters, numbering 16 in all, were on trial after they burned an American flag at the gates of Expo ’74 on the Fourth of July.

They were charged with vagrancy and unlawful assembly – but not for burning a flag, which raised some constitutional questions.

Police officers testified that the group had marched toward Expo from an “illegal marijuana smoke-in” at High Bridge Park (aka People’s Park). A police captain said he ordered the arrests after the group obstructed traffic near the gates.

“By their presence, it was obvious they intended to storm the Expo gates,” the captain said.

Under cross-examination by attorney Carl Maxey, the captain admitted that no one actually attempted to crash the gates.

The 16 defendants were joined by an equal number of supporters in the courtroom. After three hours of testimony, the trial was postponed indefinitely because the judge had a prior afternoon commitment.

From 100 years ago: Ed Fawley of Waterville, an acknowledged member of the Ku Klux Klan, announced that he would not be a candidate for Congress, but he refused to support another GOP candidate, Ed Ferguson, because Ferguson did not support a Klan-backed bill banning parochial schools.

“I’m just as proud of my membership in the Ku Klux Klan as I am of my membership in the Masonic and Elks lodges,” Fawley said.