Flag-Burner Fights Back With Federal Lawsuit

URBANA, IL — An Urbana man who incensed the internet with photos of himself burning an American flag on the Fourth of July is firing back.

Bryton Mellott, 22, was arrested and detained, but not charged, after posting the images on social media. He's now suing to have the state's flag-desecration law ruled unconstitutional, the Chicago Tribune reports. The suit filed Wednesday names several Urbana police officers.

Mellott maintains his premeditated post reflected his "open dissent ... the highest form of American patriotism."

"And it was a frightening display of irony that on the Fourth of July, I should be taken from my workplace to sit in a county jail for exercising this liberty," Mellott said in a statement after filing the suit.

Urbana police made the arrest on the claims that his actions constituted flag desecration, disorderly conduct and that he became a threat to others, including his employer, Walmart. Police that day were flooded with phone calls reporting the post, and Mellott was later bombarded with death threats.

Accompanying the photos of Mellott burning the flag, he shared his discontent with the state of the country:

"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 basis.

— Mellott, in a social media post

His commentary and the images captured the attention of thousands, drawing hundreds of comments, including calls for Walmart to fire Mellott. Calls to police ranged from concerns over his post to threats against both Mellott and his employer. Police reportedly spoke with Mellott about his exercise of free speech but warned that he could be endangering people other than himself.

“The free speech that he was exhibiting, while it was distasteful to some, free speech is free speech. ... It’s when you say things that are inciteful and make it clear that you are associated with someone that doesn’t share your ideas; it got raised to a level where a reasonable person there would fear for their safety. It’s similar to yelling fire in a movie theater.”

—Urbana Police Chief Sgt. Andrew Charles, as previously reported by Forbes

When he continued speaking out on social media, police arrested him at his workplace in part, they say, to protect him from any harm being threatened by the masses. Mellott seemed undaunted by the public attention and criticism, continuously interacting with commenters but also asking for the death threats to stop.

The flag-desecration statute has been repealed in some states but remains in place in most, the Tribune reports. It has twice been ruled unconstitutional, once in 1989 and again in 1990, establishing that flag burning and other forms of damage are constitutionally protected free speech.

It was for that reason that prosecutors declined to press charges against Mellott.

"We have considered 720 ILCS 5/49-1, Flag Desecration, an Illinois statute currently in effect," the State's Attorney said in a statement issued in July. "This statute was the basis for the decision by Urbana Police officers to arrest Mellott. While that 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."

President-elect Donald Trump has openly denounced the act of flag burning as one necessitating "consequence," including jail or a loss of citizenship.

Mellott is being represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois. He seeks unspecified damages.