Bryton Mellott posted photos on Facebook showing him burning the American flag.
AB Wire
A 22-year-old man from Illinois was arrested on Sunday after he posted a picture of himself burning an American flag.
Bryton Mellott posted several photos on Facebook on July 3 showing him burning the American flag. On the photo post, he included a statement about why he is “not proud” to be an American.
“In this moment, being proud of my country is to ignore the atrocities committed against people of color, people living in poverty, people who identify as women, and against my own queer community on a daily,” Mellott wrote.
The photo was shared thousands of times on Facebook and police received several complaints from social media users who had seen Mellot’s post. Other callers expressed concern for Mellot’s safety as some people online threatened to cause him harm.
Urbana Sgt. Andrew Charles said that police made the arrest under a 2013 Illinois flag desecration law “to try to assure the safety of the public and Mr Mellott.”
The law allows for prosecution of individuals who publicly mutilate or deface a flag.
However, Champaign County State’s Attorney Julia Rietz said charges would not be filed against Mellott because the Illinois flag desecration statute was contradictory to a US Supreme Court ruling that deemed flag burning protected by the First Amendment.
The Rietz office said it would as Illinois legislators to consider reviewing the state’s flag desecration law “given the constitutional issues it presents.”
Urbana police said they respected the decision not to proceed with filing charges.