Personally I thought this was bullshit but ya know who cares what I think right?
Flag burner gets his ass kicked
After a 19-year-old war protester set fire to an American flag at the Murrieta [California] city birthday bash Saturday evening, angry bystanders attacked him before he could say a word, his mother said Sunday.
Police said Lee Henry Vollick, of Murrieta, set an American flag ablaze around 7:55 p.m. in the middle of a crowded concert at the California Oaks Sports Park.
The protester's mother, Barbara Vollick, said her son was trying to make a statement against the war in Iraq, not against the United States.
"He's just a college student being crazy," she said.
Murrieta police Sgt. Dennis Vrooman said, "He was basically a one-man demonstration."
He was trying to get others to join him, Vrooman said, "but he wasn't getting any cooperation."
Vollick said her son was upset about President Bush's speech on Iraq last week.
"He's very angry that our young men are dying,"
Vollick said.
"He didn't even get to say anything," she said, alleging that about a half-dozen people attacked him and pulled the flag away. One man punched him in the face, she said.
Vollick said Sunday her son wasn't in any condition to speak with the press.
"He's actually in a lot of pain right now." She said his face was cut, his neck and back were hurt, and he had welts on his wrists from handcuffs police placed on him when he was arrested.
Vollick was up all night in jail, she said, and he wasn't released until nearly 10 a.m. Sunday morning.
According to a police news release, a Murrieta police officer approached Vollick because the fire posed a hazard to the crowd. The fire burned out quickly, but the officer tried to grab Vollick anyway.
Vollick resisted and tried to break away from his grasp, the release said. With the help of several bystanders, including two off-duty Murrieta police officers, the officer brought Vollick to the ground.
Vollick was arrested on suspicion of resisting a police officer, disturbing a public assembly and inciting a riot. Vollick's mother said he was just trying to stand up, not fight the officers.
"He was yelling, 'You're hurting me,' " she said. "He has a bad back."
Vrooman said, "From my understanding, there were quite a few people in the crowd who were displeased at what he was doing." When the police took the teen him away, Vrooman said, "people applauded.". . .
Which reminds me of the town (Southern town, I believe), which made hitting anyone burning the flag a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum fine of 1 (one) dollar.
After a 19-year-old war protester set fire to an American flag at the Murrieta [California] city birthday bash Saturday evening, angry bystanders attacked him before he could say a word, his mother said Sunday.
Police said Lee Henry Vollick, of Murrieta, set an American flag ablaze around 7:55 p.m. in the middle of a crowded concert at the California Oaks Sports Park.
The protester's mother, Barbara Vollick, said her son was trying to make a statement against the war in Iraq, not against the United States.
"He's just a college student being crazy," she said.
Murrieta police Sgt. Dennis Vrooman said, "He was basically a one-man demonstration."
He was trying to get others to join him, Vrooman said, "but he wasn't getting any cooperation."
Vollick said her son was upset about President Bush's speech on Iraq last week.
"He's very angry that our young men are dying,"
Vollick said.
"He didn't even get to say anything," she said, alleging that about a half-dozen people attacked him and pulled the flag away. One man punched him in the face, she said.
Vollick said Sunday her son wasn't in any condition to speak with the press.
"He's actually in a lot of pain right now." She said his face was cut, his neck and back were hurt, and he had welts on his wrists from handcuffs police placed on him when he was arrested.
Vollick was up all night in jail, she said, and he wasn't released until nearly 10 a.m. Sunday morning.
According to a police news release, a Murrieta police officer approached Vollick because the fire posed a hazard to the crowd. The fire burned out quickly, but the officer tried to grab Vollick anyway.
Vollick resisted and tried to break away from his grasp, the release said. With the help of several bystanders, including two off-duty Murrieta police officers, the officer brought Vollick to the ground.
Vollick was arrested on suspicion of resisting a police officer, disturbing a public assembly and inciting a riot. Vollick's mother said he was just trying to stand up, not fight the officers.
"He was yelling, 'You're hurting me,' " she said. "He has a bad back."
Vrooman said, "From my understanding, there were quite a few people in the crowd who were displeased at what he was doing." When the police took the teen him away, Vrooman said, "people applauded.". . .
Which reminds me of the town (Southern town, I believe), which made hitting anyone burning the flag a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum fine of 1 (one) dollar.