![gay flag burning gay flag burning](https://s.abcnews.com/images/Video/pride-month-gty-jt-190611_hpMain_4x3t_608.jpg)
The incident came at the end of Waterford’s Pride of the Déise weekend for the LGBTQ+ community.Ī number of people including activists, politicians and gardaí gathered on Wednesday for the re-raising of Pride flags outside Waterford City and County Council’s buildings. Gardaí said the man has been charged with a count of criminal damage and is due to appear at Waterford District Court on July 6th.Ī number of Pride flags were taken down and set alight at the Mall in Waterford city in the early hours of last Monday. Jason Clayworth is an investigative reporter at the Des Moines Register.A man in his 40s has been arrested in connection with the burning of Pride flags in Waterford city.
![gay flag burning gay flag burning](https://images.thestar.com/n20gy-irbHD6zWwYvGrEOTzXUzs=/1280x1024/smart/filters:cb(1624737322977)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/gta/2021/06/22/two-teens-arrested-in-connection-with-pride-flag-burning-video/pride_flag.jpg)
Court records reviewed by the Register do not indicate that he has filed any further motions linked to his representation in the case. He did not respond to a request for comment. Martinez is currently being held at the Iowa Medical & Classification Center correctional facility in Coralville. She said she believes Martinez was ultimately satisfied with his legal representation. Marcucci said the case was assigned to her before the hate crime enhancement and before her supervisors were aware the case involved issues pertaining to sexuality. Had he ordered the sentences to run concurrently, the incarceration would have totaled 15 years, a slight reduction. He did, however, order Martinez to serve the sentences consecutively. Van Marel under state sentencing law had little leeway when determining Martinez's penalty. “I think it’s a very interesting issue in that the First Amendment right to freedom of expression covers things like burning the American flag, but burning the rainbow flag is something that was criminalized,” Marcucci told the Register this month. And because the arson conviction was a felony, the habitual offender enhancement also applied due to Martinez's prior conviction on drug and theft counts in Texas. But the hate crime status bumped the arson charge from an aggravated misdemeanor to a felony, which carries a more severe sentence. Martinez would have received a maximum of around three years in prison for the convictions. Marcucci contrasted the case with others, noting her concern with how dramatically the hate crime and habitual offender enhancements increased Martinez's prison time. She said she believes - if anything - her sexuality was an asset as she argued his case.
#GAY FLAG BURNING FREE#
Marcucci told the Register that she fought aggressively for Martinez, including seeking dismissal of the hate crime enhancement on free speech grounds. “She doesn’t have my best interests at heart, your honor,” Martinez said, according to the transcript. But Marcucci was ultimately reassigned to the case after Martinez was unable to retain his own attorney, court records show.īefore his conviction, Martinez made several statements to media and in court proceedings condemning or disparaging gay people, including claiming in an August hearing that “a person who cannot discern their difference between gender is mentally retarded.” He said his views were based on his religious beliefs.Īs he argued to be allowed to hire his own attorney, he told the court that Marcucci “was about to blow at some of the things I was telling her.” He said he was willing to stand behind his beliefs even if it resulted in his incarceration. Van Marel allowed Martinez to seek private counsel. And I can just read right through the lines,” Martinez told Iowa District Associate Judge Steven Van Marel, according to the transcript. “It’s not ironic they appointed her to my case, your honor.