8 Weirdest Mistakes at the GOP Convention (including a fire, broken teleprompter, and awkward “air kiss”)

7.  When a protestor set himself on fire while trying to burn an American flag

Amidst all the turmoil related to law enforcement, the police had to walk a fine line at allowing protests while maintaining the peace. Gregory “Joey” Johnson was there, burning flags again.  (You might remember him from his pyrotechnics at a GOP convention 30 years ago which led to the 1989 U.S. Supreme Court decision protecting flag-burning as free speech).  But this time, things went bad:

Moments after the flag was set on fire, officers charged in to put it out with an extinguishing spray that some in the crowd thought was pepper spray because of similarities in the design of the canisters and the eye irritation caused by the fire-suppression substance.

“You’re on fire! You’re on fire, stupid!” a Cleveland officer shouted at a protester while firing the extinguishing spray.