If there's a law against it, he needs to be charged and tried. If he thinks the law is garbage, that's why we have an appeals process.
Without the law though...there's a real problem here. His BS with the flag is just asshole behavior through and through. This wasn't a big deal in the past though because people weren't a bunch of look-at-me-dickfucks and had some respect and decency to them. There are a metric shit ton of ways to protest and some were used successfully in the past, but this guy needed his 15 min. That brings me to the next point: the media's a pack of vermin. This isn't newsworthy and only feeds the dirtbags, fueling their hunt for another 15 min.
This isn't a flag problem or 1st Amendment problem, this is a societal problem with no end in sight.
I wonder if our children will hate us for the world we're leaving them.
We have a law in PA.
18 PA C.S. § 2102. Desecration of flag.
(a) Offense defined.--A person is guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree if, in any manner, he:
(1) for exhibition or display places any marks, writing
or design of any nature or any advertisement upon any flag;
(2) exposes to public view any such marked or defiled
flag;
(3) manufactures, sells, exposes for sale, gives away,
or has in his possession for any of such purposes any article
which uses the flag for the purposes of advertisement, sale
or trade; or
(4) publicly or privately mutilates, defaces, defiles,
or tramples upon, or casts contempt in any manner upon any flag.
(b) Exception.--Subsection (a) of this section does not
apply:
(1) To any act permitted by the statutes of the United
States, or by the regulations of the armed forces of the
United States.
(2) In a case where the government of the United States
has granted the use of such flag, standard, color, or ensign
as a trademark.
(3) To any writing or instrument, or stationery for use
in correspondence on any of which shall be printed, painted, or placed said flag, disconnected from any advertisement for the purpose of sale or trade.
(4) To any patriotic or political demonstration or
decorations.
(c) Definition.--As used in this section the word "flag"
shall include any flag, standard, color, ensign or any picture
or representation of any thereof, made of any substance or
represented on any substance and of any size, purporting to be a flag, standard, color or ensign of the United States or of the
Commonwealth, or a picture or a representation of any thereof, upon which shall be shown the colors or any color, or any combination of colors, or either the stars or the stripes, or
the stars and the stripes, in any number of either thereof, or
anything which the person seeing the same, may reasonably
believe the same to represent the flag, colors, standard or
ensign of the United States or of the Commonwealth.
That said, I believe any prosecution would fail. I'm doubtful the DA would even approve the charge.
In any case, one could argue that charging them gives them another public forum to spout their garbage.
