Iowa man convicted of burning an LGBTQ flag – and he gets a 16-year prison sentence

An Iowa man convicted of stealing an LGBTQ flag from a church and setting it on fire outside a strip club was sentenced to more than 16 years in prison, media outlets report.

His comments to a TV station that it was an “honor to do that” because he “opposed homosexuality,” were used in the trial, the BBC reported.

Adolfo Martinez, 30, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the hate crime, one year for reckless use of fire or explosives, and 30 days for harassment, the Associated Press reported.

Martinez stole the flag from Ames United Church of Christ and burned it outside Dangerous Curves Gentleman’s Club in June, the Des Moines Register reported. He lit up the flag in the street using lighter fluid and a lighter, the newspaper reported.

In an interview with KCCI shortly after, Martinez said that he was “guilty as charged.”

“It’s my honor. It is written. It is a judgment and it’s written to execute vengeance on the heathen and punishments on the people,” Martinez told KCCI. “It’s my honor to do so. It was an honor to do that. It’s a blessing from the Lord.”

Nevertheless, Martinez took the case to trial, but a jury convicted him in November, the AP reported.

Story County Attorney Jessica Reynolds said this is the first hate crime conviction in the county, the Ames Tribune reported.

Because Martinez was considered a “habitual offender,” he was allowed to be sentenced longer than the maximum five years for a hate crime, the Des Moines Register reported.

“The hard reality is there are people who target individuals and commit crimes against individuals because of their race, gender, sexual orientation, and when that happens it’s so important that as a society we stand up and people have severe consequences for those actions,” Reynolds told the Ames Tribune.