"Following the Civil War, flag protectionists targeted other forms of desecration, particularly abuses in the realm of commercialism. In 1907, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Halter v. Nebraska, a case in which two businessmen were fined $50 for selling a bottle of "Stars and Stripes" brand beer--a violation of the Nebraska state flag desecration law. Soon the flag-protection movement would shift its focus from the commercial to the political arena in efforts to apprehend violators of flag desecration statutes. During the tense period leading up to U.S. involvement in World War I, the war itself, and the Red Scare of 1919-1920, flag-protection enthusiasts set their sights on political dissidents, especially such leftists as pacifists, labor organizers, anarchists, and communists. Interestingly, though, even mainstream citizens who chose not to consecrate the flag were subject to draconian penalties. E. V. Starr was arrested under Montana law for refusing a mob's demand that he kiss the flag and for terming it "nothing but a piece of cotton" with "a little bit of paint." For this violation, Starr was sentenced to hard labor in the state penitentiary for 10 to 20 years, along with a $100 fine (Ex Parte Starr, 1920:146-47; see Goldstein, 1995; Welch, 1999a)."