re: Iowa man sentenced to 16 YEARS for burning a flag. A FLAG

quote:

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20 years ago this would have been ridiculous.

Radical progressive ideology is ruining this nation

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no, you are mistaken. Whether 20 years ago, or a century ago, if you took someone else’s property from them and destroyed it, you will be subject to criminal criminal penalty. That has not changed.

The hate crime element of this thing is ridiculous. I have always felt that “hate crimes“ should be handled under the basic substantive statute.

If you destroy someone’s property by burning it, it should not matter whether it is a flag, a tree, or a stack of magazines. The penalty should be the same, regardless of whether you did it because you were trying to make a political point, or simply because you were in a pyromaniacal mood.