![17 years for burning gay flag 17 years for burning gay flag](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/3e2899db8cc24dab2242aedff60ad0610815a7d4/c=459-0-4093-2732&r=x1443&c=1920x1440/local/-/media/2016/07/18/USATODAY/USATODAY/636044521900827407-EPA-USA-REPUBLICAN-NATIONAL-CONVETION.jpg)
He stole it from the United Church of Christ in Ames before putting it up in flames in front of a men’s strip club. "This act of hate is repugnant to our values of equality and inclusion, and we will not stand by and allow these cowardly acts to continue in New York," he said in a statement. Would you ever have imagined spending 17 years in prison for burning a piece of cloth This is the situation of Adolfo Martinez, an Iowa man who reportedly burned a flag belonging to the LGBT community. On June 30, Adolpha Martinez stole the flag from Ames Church of Christ in Iowa and burned it. The arrest came just a day after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said he asked state authorities to open a hate crime investigation over the incident outside of Alibi Lounge, the only gay bar in the neighborhood around 139th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. According to KCCI-TV, a man will be serving 17 years in prison because he stole an LGBT flag from a church and then proceeded to burn it in front of a men’s strip club. He did not release any details about the suspect in custody. Adolfo Martinez was convicted of a hate crime for stealing the flag in. "Your calls to and the efforts of our detectives have led to the identification and apprehension of the individual who burned the pride flag," Shea tweeted Tuesday along with an image of a man at the scene of the crime. The man who set fire to an Iowa church’s rainbow flag has received a 15-year prison sentence. Adolfo Martinez, a 30-year-old from Ames, Iowa, was sentenced to 15 years on Wednesday after being found guilty of committing a hate crime. Dont believe me Break into your local city hall or VFW, steal an American flag, and burn. A man in the US has been sentenced to at least 15 years in jail after burning an LGBTQ pride flag that was stolen from a church building. He was sentenced on Wednesday to 16 years behind bars. Martinez admitted to burning the flag and was found guilty last month. He had also threatened to burn down the club. NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said officers made the arrest thanks to tips from the community. There is absolutely a penalty for burning someone elses US flag. Martinez later burned the purloined flag, doused with lighter fluid, outside the Dangerous Curves Gentleman’s Club, which had actually been kicked him out earlier that day. Police said they apprehended a suspect on Tuesday evening who allegedly set fire to a rainbow flag outside of a Harlem gay bar.