Man Arrested For Burning Flag And Posting On Facebook: ‘I Am Not Proud To Be An American’ — But There’s A Twist Ending

A man who published an image of himself burning an American flag on Facebook was arrested in Urbana, Illinois, this week. Though many criticized 22-year-old Bryton Mellott for desecrating the flag, others argued that the act of defiance qualifies as free speech. The post has sparked a debate about whether burning the American flag should be illegal, and brought into question the laws that some cities and states already have on the books.

According to local Fox 59 News, the day before the fourth of July, Bryton Mellott shared several pictures of himself wearing a flower reef on his head and holding a blazing American flag. He followed up the posts with an explanation about why he made the statement, declaring “I am 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.”

https://www.facebook.com/brytonmellot/photos/a.1227041490647708.1073741825.1227040117314512/1227041500647707/?type=3&theater

Mellott’s controversial posts quickly went viral, being shared all across Facebook from people who both agreed and disagreed with him. Before long, the images of Bryton burning the American flag were removed from the website. According to Urbana Police Sgt. Andrew Charles, calls started pouring into the police department regarding the Facebook photos. While some were essentially calling the cops on Bryton Mellott for posting the offensive photos, others were more concerned about the violent comments people were leaving. There were threats directed at both Mellott and the Walmart where he works.

“The volume of responses and specificity of threat against his place of employment (a location where an act of violence would likely cause harm to others), prompted police involvement in this case,” said the Urbana police in a statement.

The legality of Mellott’s posts was brought into question. Police recognized his right to free speech, but there is also an Illinois state law that forbids the desecration of the American flag.

“Any person who publicly mutilates, defaces, defiles, tramples, or intentionally displays on the ground or floor any such flag, standard, color or ensign shall be guilty of a Class 4 felony.”

As the investigation continued, Bryton Mellott continued to post additional photos of himself doing similarly controversial things. So the Urbana police decided to arrest him, believing that his actions were causing a public safety concern — namely the fear that an outraged Facebook user would attack the local Walmart. Strangely, this seemed to be what Mellott either wanted or expected, because his original flag burning Facebook post was shared with the hashtag #ArrestMe.

The police report claimed Bryton Mellott was arrested for flag desecration and disorderly conduct.

However, according to the News-Gazette, Mellott will not face any criminal charges after all. Even though there’s still an Illinois state law that forbids flag desecration, a recent Supreme Court ruling has declared those kinds of laws unconstitutional. Based on this court decision, the State’s Attorney’s Office determined Bryton was allowed to burn the flag as a legal expression of free speech.

JUST IN: Urbana flag burner won’t be charged, Champaign Co. State’s Attorney says. https://t.co/BgQ4Jk0U16 pic.twitter.com/e1H4T0Vk84

— news_gazette (@news_gazette) July 5, 2016

“The State’s Attorney’s Office is declining to file charges against (Bryton) Mellott as the act of burning a flag is protected free speech according to the US Supreme Court decision, Texas v. Johnson, 491 US 397 (1989),” said Champaign County State’s Attorney Julia Rietz. “While that [flag desecration] statute remains in effect, it is contradictory to the US Supreme Court ruling in Texas v. Johnson. We will be discussing this issue with our local legislators and asking that they consider reviewing this statute given the constitutional issues it presents.”

Do you think Bryton Mellott should have been charged for burning the American flag? Or do you think he had the right to do so? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

[Photo by Abid Katib/Getty Images]