“That’s why my office recommended the maximum sentence. “I believe him to be very dangerous,” Reynolds said. Story County Attorney Jessica Reynolds told KCCI since Martinez has a long history of harassment and was also charged as a habitual offender, he faced a harsher penalty. “We will continue to strive for a justice system which values restoration over punishment and helps individuals like Adolfo Martinez understand the harm that they’ve caused.” Reyes said that while her organization is appreciative of the seriousness of the crime, it does not see how the long sentence “accomplishes any of those goals.” “That said, true justice should always strive to be about rehabilitation, reconciliation, and healing communities.” “Hate crimes against the LGBTQ community are a serious matter as they inflict distinct emotional harms on their victims, and strike fear into the communities they target,” Courtney Reyes, the executive director of One Iowa, a statewide LGBTQ organization, said. My Irish blood, for example, does not make me think I can burn the English flag. 'Pride' is often used as an excuse by deplorable individuals so that they can get away with things that they wouldnt get away with otherwise. Its the same as the whole 'gay pride' thing. Martinez said he was guilty and had no intention of fighting the charges as he “knowingly, intentionally and willingly” burned the flag. I generally think pride should be reserved for accomplishments, but I get what youre saying. The 30-year-old faces 15 years in prison after being found guilty of a hate crime, third-degree harassment, and being a habitual offender, KCCI reported. “It’s a blessing from the Lord to be able to stand for his world firmly, against all odds.” “It was an honor to do that,” Martinez told CNN affiliate KCCI. Martinez said he removed the flag because he didn’t believe the church should support the LGBT community since it is a house of worship, the police report read. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.ĪMES, Iowa - A man has been sentenced to 15 years after burning an LGBT flag hanging from a church in Iowa.Īdolfo Martinez was found guilty on Wednesday after tearing down and burning the flag which was flying at the Ames United Church of Christ in June. Tanya Cooper, a Kyiv-based Ukraine researcher for Human Rights Watch (HRW), told RFE/RL ahead of the pop competition that the slogan "sounds hollow in a country where LGBT people still do not enjoy equal protection under law and in employment.This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. The violence in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-biggest city, came after Kyiv hosted the Eurovision Song Contest on May 9-13 - an event whose slogan this year was "Celebrate Diversity."
Several gay-pride parades have been banned in Ukraine in recent years, but authorities have sought to display more tolerance by permitting various LGBT events to take place and providing better protection.
Organizers of the rally said they were attempting to draw attention to homophobia in society. They could face five years in prison if tried and convicted. Kharkiv police said on Facebook that four of the assailants were detained and could be charged with violence against law enforcement authorities. Video footage from the May 17 violence showed young men dressed in black attacking activists and fighting with police officers, one of whom holds his hand to his bloodied head and says he was hit with a rock or a brick.Īt one point, an assailant uses a cigarette lighter to torch a rainbow flag - a symbol of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) rights - and holds it as it burns. Law enforcement officials said on May 18 that two police officers were hospitalized after police tried to disperse a group of about 30 assailants in the center of the eastern city. The US Supreme Court has ruled that same-sex marriage is a legal right across the United States. The flag is used as a symbol of gay pride and is now used worldwide. If I see the US flag being burned, Im going to get triggered and intervene. Assailants attacked gay and transgender rights activists and torched a rainbow flag at a small rally in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. The rainbow flag, commonly the gay pride flag and LGBT pride flag, is a symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) pride and LGBT social movements. Not illegal to burn any flag as far as I know.