If everything else was equal, and Martinez burned an American flag hanging at a church instead of a pride flag, he would have received different charges and very likely a lesser sentence. Johnson, who received a $225,000 settlement from the city of Cleveland in June after he successfully argued that police officers violated his First Amendment rights by using fire extinguishers to put out an American flag he was burning outside the Republican National Convention in 2016 in protest of “American imperialism and inequality”.Įarlier this month, Adolfo Martinez was convicted of a hate crime in Ames, Iowa for “tearing down and burning a Pride flag that was hanging at a local church.” While Martinez was properly charged and convicted of “third-degree harassment, reckless use of fire, and being a habitual offender,” the hate crime enhancement for burning a flag is dangerous. In fact, the burning of an American flag may even be quite lucrative, as in the case of Revolutionary Communist Party member Gregory L. While burning a gay pride flag is a hate crime, burning an American flag is free speech. Individuals across America are being charged – and convicted – with hate crimes for burning the rainbow flag, which represents gay pride.
