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In Iowa, Class D felonies are subject to a maximum prison sentence of five years. As a result, the man’s conviction was elevated to an aggravated misdemeanor for a Class D felony. Iowa law requires that some offenses are classified and punished as one degree higher than the underlying offense.
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Because the flag was an LGBT symbol and the suspect expressed his motivation, a hate crime enhancement was added to the offense. Applicable Iowa LawĪ third-degree assault conviction in Iowa normally results in a two-year prison sentence. The offense was also found to be a hate crime, which also resulted in an increased prison term. Under Iowa law, this means that the man was sentenced as a habitual offender, which led to his increased prison sentence. While it is true that the man ultimately received 15 years in prison for the offense of third-degree arson related to the pride banner, the man had two previous convictions. A jury later convicted the man on all three charges. The man later admitted that his criminal offenses were motivated by antipathy towards homosexuals and that he had “burned down their pride.” The man is additionally reported to have threatened to burn down a church.ĭespite confessing, the man pleaded not guilty to the charges of third-degree arson, third-degree harassment, and reckless use of fire or explosives. He came to the bar with an LGBT pride banner that he stole from the Ames United Church of Christ and proceeded to set it on fire. How the Pride Banner Case AroseĪmes, Iowa law enforcement arrested the man on June 11, 2019, after the man was reported to have caused a disturbance at a local bar. These articles, however, leave out some important details in this case. The UK publication, the Sun, claimed that the man received a 16-year sentence and noted that this sentence greatly exceeds the average rape conviction in the United States.
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The Western Journal website even claimed that the man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the hate crime of arson. In December 2019, several reports began circulating that a man in Iowa was given a 16-year prison sentence for burning an LGBT pride banner. An Iowa man was given a 16-year prison sentence for stealing and setting fire to an LGBT pride banner, but the facts of the case explain the harsh sentence.