Iowa Man Gets 16 Years for Burning LGBT Flag

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

So much for freedom of speech.

 

Quote

As leftists are free to torch U.S. flags across the nation, an Iowa man is paying a heavy price for burning a rainbow LGBT pride flag.

Adolfo Martinez of Ames was sentenced Wednesday to a whopping 15 years in prison for the hate crime of arson, according to The Associated Press.

In addition to spending a decade and a half in prison for burning the LGBT flag, the 30-year-old Martinez also will be serving an additional year for his use of fire and 30 days for harassment.

 

 

 

Edited December 20, 2019 by ALFKAD
https://www.westernjournal.com/iowa-man-gets-16-years-burning-lgbt-flag

[Dashinka 23,291]

Just wow!  This guy should have been made to pay for destroying property, but 16 years as a hate crime?

 

[Burnt Reynolds 5,058]

It wouldn't matter if that flag was an LGBT flag or a Jewish flag, the actions surrounding it (stealing something that isn't theirs and the premise of the original crime) are what made it what it is. 

 

If he purchased his own LGBT flag and burned it, then got 16 years for burning the flag, then I agree, this is what its being portrayed as. But they're doing this to property that's not theirs, so it isn't. 

 

The idiots we see burning the US flags are, to my knowledge, burning flags that they bought/possess. Pretty sure they would be charged if they went into a church the same way and stole a US flag and burned it, especially with a "hate" motivation. I think the "hate" part is a joke, but the intent in this situation is quite clear.

 

Context matters, and this is precisely why.

Edited December 20, 2019 by Burnt Reynolds

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

3 minutes ago, Burnt Reynolds said:

It wouldn't matter if that flag was an LGBT flag or a Jewish flag, the actions surrounding it are what made it what it is. 

 

If he purchased his own LGBT flag and burned it, then got 16 years for burning the flag, then this is what its being portrayed as. But they're doing this to property thats not theirs. 

 

The idiots we see burning the US flags are, to my knowledge, burning flags that they bought/possess. Pretty sure they would be charged if they went into a church the same way and stole a US flag and burned it. 

 

Context matters, and this is precisely why.

No, there have been instances of people taking others' flags and burning them.

 

The most this guys SHOULD have gotten. Was theft & destruction of property, and jr should have had to pay to replace the flag.  I've known drug dealers and murderers getting lighter sentences than this.

[Boiler 43,572]

There seems to be prior form but even so 15 years?

[luckytxn 2,263]

9 minutes ago, ALFKAD said:

No, there have been instances of people taking others' flags and burning them.

 

The most this guys SHOULD have gotten. Was theft & destruction of property, and jr should have had to pay to replace the flag.  I've known drug dealers and murderers getting lighter sentences than this.

This. It is only  property after all and maybe a few days in jail for being stupid is all that can be justified from what I read.

[Burnt Reynolds 5,058]

23 minutes ago, ALFKAD said:

No, there have been instances of people taking others' flags and burning them.

 

The most this guys SHOULD have gotten. Was theft & destruction of property, and jr should have had to pay to replace the flag.  I've known drug dealers and murderers getting lighter sentences than this.

The context of this person and what they did was not fully elaborated on by the article, despite the mountain of text and long rants about burning the US flag. And when they don't bother doing this, I can safely assume the intent was emotional bait.

 

Things they didn't want to elaborate on:

- This was retaliation to being thrown out of a bar

- He then made threats to burn down the bar, tore down a LGBT flag from a church and burned it outside the bar, along with other things

- Of those 17 years (no idea why they say 16), 15 are for arson/harassment/habitual offender amplifiers, and two years are for the "hate crime" amplifier it's not that many years for "hate"

- This person has a criminal history

- At his sentencing, he threatened he would do it again if released

 

This is basically a threatening bad person with a criminal history doing bad things and getting a very long sentence to the relief of the local community. It's not about burning an LGBT flag.

Edited December 20, 2019 by Burnt Reynolds

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

1 minute ago, Burnt Reynolds said:

The context of this person and what they did was not fully elaborated on by the article, despite the mountain of text and long rants about burning the US flag. And when they don't bother doing this, I can safely assume the intent was emotional bait.

 

Things they didn't want to elaborate on:

- This was retaliation to being thrown out of a bar

- He then made threats to burn down the bar, tore down a LGBT flag from a church and burned it outside the bar, along with other things

- Of those 17 years, 15 are for arson/harassment/habitual offender amplifiers, and two years are for the "hate crime" amplifier it's not that many years for "hate"

- This person has a criminal history

- At his sentencing, he threatened he would do it again if released

 

This is basically a bad person doing bad things and getting a very long sentence to the relief of the local community.

17 years for arson of a flag???

[Burnt Reynolds 5,058]

3 minutes ago, ALFKAD said:

17 years for arson of a flag???

For making threats, harassment, arson, being a repeat offender (repeat offender amplifiers), is what he got 15 years for. 2 for "hate crime". Not 15 years for "arson of a flag". People are clearly focusing too much on the flag because they were told to. The people writing this article did it in the way they did to elicit an emotional reaction, not to inform people.

Edited December 20, 2019 by Burnt Reynolds

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

3 minutes ago, Burnt Reynolds said:

For making threats, harassment, arson, being a repeat offender (repeat offender amplifiers), is what he got 15 years for. 2 for "hate crime". Not 15 years for "arson of a flag". People are clearly focusing too much on the flag because they were told to. The people writing this article did it in the way they did to elicit an emotional reaction, not to inform people.

Quote

Adolfo Martinez, 30, of Ames, was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years for the hate crime of arson and given a year for reckless use of explosives or fire and 30 days for harassment. The sentences are to be served consecutively, Story County court records said. 

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1105131

Edited December 20, 2019 by ALFKAD

[luckytxn 2,263]

3 minutes ago, Burnt Reynolds said:

For making threats, harassment, arson, being a repeat offender (repeat offender amplifiers), is what he got 15 years for. 2 for "hate crime". Not 15 years for "arson of a flag". People are clearly focusing too much on the flag because they were told to. The people writing this article did it in the way they did to elicit an emotional reaction, not to inform people.

The problem is that sure they may have amplified it because he was a pain in the rear to the community and they wanted to get rid of him but society may not like me one day and will do the same to me. 

[Boiler 43,572]

I would like to see the full story.

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

9 minutes ago, Burnt Reynolds said:

For making threats, harassment, arson, being a repeat offender (repeat offender amplifiers), is what he got 15 years for. 2 for "hate crime". Not 15 years for "arson of a flag". People are clearly focusing too much on the flag because they were told to. The people writing this article did it in the way they did to elicit an emotional reaction, not to inform people.

 

 

 

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."

He faced a maximum of five years in prison for the hate crime and arson charge and a maximum of a year and month for the other two charges, according to Iowa sentencing guidelines. Court records list him as a habitual offender, allowing him to be sentenced to a longer prison term.

 

https://amp.desmoinesregister.com/amp/2697139001

[Burnt Reynolds 5,058]

21 minutes ago, luckytxn said:

The problem is that sure they may have amplified it because he was a pain in the rear to the community and they wanted to get rid of him but society may not like me one day and will do the same to me. 

The primary amplifiers are for repeat offenses. Similarly, a leftist knee jerk article, if anyone remembers the infamous 99 cent donut guy, was given life in prison. So a typical clickbait like article spawning all over the place would suggest he got 99 cents for donut theft. In reality, he was a serial offender who committed his third felony (under a three strikes rule which results in automatic life sentence), not by stealing a donut, but by committing "strong arm robbery" when he put his hands on the person trying to stop him. 

 

Some people are simply bad. This person demonstrated in court during sentencing he would do it again (threaten the bar, commit arson again, promote hate toward LGBT) the second he's let out. It's not a person you should weep for, they are unequivocally a criminal who doesn't learn, and deserves to be away from the public for a very long time. Why should the public suffer a person like this?

 

The situation here, despite how loudly both partisan sides are screaming their own narratives, really isn't much about the LGBT flag thing, is more about a person acting dangerously and being a threat to people, repeatedly.

 

18 minutes ago, ALFKAD said:

 

 

 

 

This basically just reiterates what I said. He faced a max 5 years hate crime amplifier, but got two. The amplifier that mattered was the repeat offender thing, and he has a history of harassment, threats, etc.

Edited December 20, 2019 by Burnt Reynolds

[Nature Boy 2.0 8,319]

59 minutes ago, Burnt Reynolds said:

The context of this person and what they did was not fully elaborated on by the article, despite the mountain of text and long rants about burning the US flag. And when they don't bother doing this, I can safely assume the intent was emotional bait.

 

Things they didn't want to elaborate on:

- This was retaliation to being thrown out of a bar

- He then made threats to burn down the bar, tore down a LGBT flag from a church and burned it outside the bar, along with other things

- Of those 17 years (no idea why they say 16), 15 are for arson/harassment/habitual offender amplifiers, and two years are for the "hate crime" amplifier it's not that many years for "hate"

- This person has a criminal history

- At his sentencing, he threatened he would do it again if released

 

This is basically a threatening bad person with a criminal history doing bad things and getting a very long sentence to the relief of the local community. It's not about burning an LGBT flag.

repeat offender is probably the big one