Martinez bagged 15 years on charges of hate crime of arson, one year for reckless use of explosives or fire and 30 days for harassment. NEVADA, Iowa A man has been imprisoned for burning an LGBTQ flag that was flying at a church in central Iowa. Pate will go through the student conduct process at CWU, according to the university. A 30-year-old man, Adolfo Martinez, has been sentenced to more than 15 years in jail for burning a gay flag that was flying at a church in the US.
"This is an appalling act of hate against the LGBTQ+ community," the letter states. The man who set fire to an Iowa churchs rainbow flag has received a 15. University leaders, including president Jim Wohlpart, wrote in a public letter the day after the incident that the students' actions "denigrates members of our community" and "violates our most basic values." Adolfo Martinez told a television station he was guilty as charged. Johnson had been charged with burning a flag was unconstitutional, the decision was met with fierce opposition. However, it was the reason that he burned the homosexual’s flag that prosecutors seemed to have a problem with. The man charged with tearing down an LGBTQ flag from an Ames church has been found guilty in a jury trial.Adolfo Martinez was found guilty Wednesday of a hate crime, third-degree harassment, and. In 1989, when the Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 that the Texas law under which Mr. Pate told police he didn't steal the flag because of what the Pride flag represents but rather because it was the "easiest and most accessible" flag to steal, according to the documents. 16 years for burning a gay pride flag Recently I reported on a man from Iowa who was sent to prison for 16 years for taking an LGBT flag from a church and then burning it outside of a strip club. Pate eventually confessed to police that he took the Pride flag. The next day, Pate came into the person's dorm room and threw the Pride flag at them saying he was angry because someone had stolen his Christian flag off of his truck, according to the documents.
The group discouraged Pate from enacting his plan, they told police. Pate is facing third-degree theft and malicious mischief charges related to the incident.Īn anonymous person told police Pate had mentioned his plan to steal the Pride flag to a group of people before he did it, according to a police report. Ryan Pate, 19, allegedly stole the flag on June 9 and set it on fire, recording his actions on social media. The teen suspected of stealing a Pride flag from the Central Washington University Student Union and Recreation Center and later burning it told police he stole the flag in retaliation for the earlier theft of his Christian flag from his truck, according to documents obtained by KHQ.