Posted on 12/21/2019 7:51:40 AM PST by gattaca
An Iowa man will spend up to 16 years behind bars for stealing a pride flag from an Iowa church and setting it on fire — a sentence that even a local LGBTQ group says might be excessive, according to a new report.
Adolfo Martinez, 30, of Ames, was sentenced Wednesday for stealing the pride banner hanging at Ames Church of Christ back in June — and then burning it with lighter fluid and a lighter outside the Dangerous Curves Gentleman’s Club, The Des Moines Register reported.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
There have been other stories posted that report that he was at the topless bar, got tossed out and then threatened to burn down the bar.
The charge at issue is stealing and burning a piece of cloth. And as I said...if it had been an American flag he would have gotten probation.
You shouldn’t burn a cross though, says Judge Thomas.
It’s getting so that it doesn’t pay to participate in their court system.
America is going to answer for its perverted ways.
The state prosecutor can and will seek maximum sentences against felons who are convicted of additional crimes.
The Hate Crime should be taken out of the sentence, but the theft, arson and any past obligation he has to the state relating to past felony convictions should remain.
Burning any flag is a freedom of speech issue. He stole the banner & burned it on property that sounds like it belongs to the strip club.
But them sentence is absolutely ridiculous. Obscene in fact. Some lawyer is going to jump on an appeal.
Just what I was thinking. Disgusting.
That....not them
The most this admittedly idiotic man should be sentenced for is trespassing and petty theft. The arson and hate crimes are not even on the radar except. Arson is ridiculous, regardless of how he acquired the flag, he was at that point burning something in his own possession, not some building. And hate crimes are a construct of the left, imputing a crime based on motive, not an action, as if the action is somehow worse due to the motive; implying that the victim is harmed greater because of what was in the mind of the perpetrator which is ultimately unknowable. The CRIME, the act, is the harm, not the amorphous thought behind it.
The trespass, six months at most, plus petty theft of the flag, another six months, equals a year in jail with time off for good behavior. Slap him on the wrist. He loses his job. That is what this is worth. Not one sixth of his life.
Insane progressives. For Pete’s sake, these same idiots are releasing violent murderers from prison because they claim the prisons are too crowded and they are sentencing a misdemeanor crime to sixteen years???
16 years? Are they insane?????
Smells like a buggary epidemic...
Either way it’s free speech. He could’ve bought his own flag and burned it. I do wonder if he’d stolen an American flag from a church and burned it if he’d seen the same sentence. I suspect the answer is no.
There’s a bit more to this story.
https://www.kcci.com/article/im-guilty-as-charged-man-says-he-doesnt-regret-burning-church-lgbtq-banner-at-gentlemens-club/27982018#
Trump appeals to all kinds who are interested in the MAGA agenda. Trump is also making good on trying to end AIDS with dhs partnering with drug makers for no cost prevention. HIV has a disproportionate impact on the black community. Trump‘s agenda is not judgmental, he wants Americans of all types, born and naturalized, to #win. Obama could’ve helped the black community in so many ways but chose not to because it’s better for his party and ideology to keep division, strife and keep people down and dependent.
From the Des Moines Register...
"Story County Attorney Jessica Reynolds said the hate crime charges were added because Martinez is suspected of criminal mischief against someone's property because of "what it represents as far as sexual orientation."
Jessica Reynolds story County Attorney
Reynolds needs to get off her ass and weigh in.
“Kim” Reynolds is who needs to be heard from.
Meanwhile...in Miami the allah praising airline mechanic who sabotaged an airliner carrying 150 people may only get 3 years.
Hey FR’s ! Who’s the judge ?
This news report does not identify the judge or the court. wonder why that should be is ?
Then it necessarily follows that some flags are more equal than others and there is “good” hate and bad hate. Zeitgeist
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.