re: Iowa baw gets 16 years for burning LGBT flag

The area of Iowa where he went to trial isn’t liberal.

He was convicted by a jury.

Speaks volumes.

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To sentence him to 1 year was proobally appropriate but to add 15 because it was determined to be a hate crime is both excessve and oppressive.

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So it's an 8th Amendment issue and not a 1st Amendment issue.

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In fairness just on this thread the rainbow burner has picked up some supporters

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I assume your comment was directed at me.

I haven’t seen a single person in this thread support what he did. The concern, as you are well aware, is about the repercussions of this court's decision and the effect on the first amendment.

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repercussions of this court's decision and the effect on the first amendment.

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Again, what about this case concerns you with respect to erosion of First Amendment rights? Arson isn't protected speech.

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If had been a $10k item you could have seen a bigger punishment?

10k/100k, basically if there were more damages the sentence could have been harsher?

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If you're asking me for an example, had he burned the flag at the church while the congregation was letting out it would likely be considered terrorizing.

And yes, as the value of the item increases so does the class of the crime charged.

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Again, it was a form of expression, ergo a form of speech.

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But his chosen method of speech centered around the destruction of someone else's property. That isn't and shouldn't be protected by the First Amendment. That's a clear line of demarkation and I don't see how you could reasonably put forward a "slippery slope" argument in this context.

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My point is the sentence is excessive unless there are underlying reasons that were not reported yesterday.

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I gave the sentence reasoning on page 2.

He met the criteria for a habitual offender enhancement and told the judge he would continue to commit the crimes along with doing TV interviews where he admitted to the crimes and admitted to the criteria for a hate enhancement. He simply begged them to max him out. If you notice the judge had the 3 sentences run CONSECTUTIVELY which almost certainly means he showed his arse in court multiple times. If you watch the interview I linked on the second page the dude is nuts.

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And yes, as the value of the item increases so does the class of the crime charged.

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Repeat that.

As the impact of the crime increases so do the charges.

That is the basis of hate crime. The impact matters. He burns an Haweyes flag in the parking lot he likely just gets a misdemeanor.

He went out of his way to get the rainbow flag, destroy it, and made statments saying that it was done because of sexual orientation. It was a crime committed solely due to the sexual orientation of the victim.

That fits the crime almost word for word.

You are getting hung up that he was arrested for burning a flag. He was arrested for lighting something on fire. It happened to be a flag.

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1. Sentenced 15 years for the hate crime (This is a fact).

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No. He was sentenced to the 15 year portion of the sentence for ARSON with a hate crime enhancement AND a habitual offender enhancement.

The arson charge grew from the place and manner by which he burned the flag adding a flammable liquid and doing it near a structure becomes a VERY serious crime in most jurisdictions. I tried one of these in SC and it is 2nd-degree arson and carries a potential life sentence.

If the guy had brought his own flag and burned it in a safe area as a protest he would have likely not been charged with anything, if he was charged it would likely have been a ticket level misdemeanor.

The OP subject is full-on clickbait and few are doing any independent research or even reading the thread.

If you watch the guys interviews it is clear he is looking for martyrdom.