ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- Deputies said an Asheville couple was charged with assault and another extremely rare citation after they got into a disagreement with an officer over the American flag.

The flag was displayed on the front porch of Mark and Deborah Kuhn's home upside down. It also had a picture of President George W. Bush pinned to it and a sign that read “Get out!”

The couple said it was their way to express their opinion on the state of the country.

On Wednesday, a Buncombe County sheriff’s deputy, who is a member of the North Carolina National Guard, came to their door to cite them with desecration of the American flag.

The deputy said after Kuhn refused to show identification, Kuhn slammed the door on his hand, breaking a pane of glass and cutting his hand. The Kuhns said the deputy shattered the glass and let himself into their house. That was when the scuffle started.

“All my client did was resist being handcuffed and arrested in his own home on his own property when he had committed no crime,” said Bruce Elmore, the Kuhns’ attorney. “He wasn’t trying to harm the officer. He was trying to get loose.”

The Kuhns were arrested and are charged with one count each of resisting arrest, two counts each of assault on a government official and one count each of desecration of the American flag.

“It’s an issue that’s been inflamed on both sides,” said Buncombe County Sheriff Van Duncan. “Where does free speech stop with encroachment on the law? This is one of those cases that falls squarely in the middle.”

The Kuhns' attorney said a 1989 Supreme Court ruling in a Texas case should overrule the North Carolina flag desecration statute. The judge in that case said that even burning the flag is part of free speech.

The Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office said they are interviewing witnesses and conducting an internal investigation to make sure proper protocol was followed.