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Winona Police Chief Frank Pomeroy said the law has been on Minnesota books for “a long time” despite U.S. Supreme Court decisions that have shot down similar anti-desecration laws in other states as unconstitutionally infringing the First Amendment right to free speech. He said the county attorney’s office researched the charge and decided not to move forward.
Assistant Winona County Attorney Steve Ott said the county attorney’s office would issue a press release explaining the decision and declined further comment. As of press time, no other statement was available.
According to the police report, a 14-year-old Winona Senior High School student bought an American flag, wrote song lyrics on it, burned holes in it with cigarettes and tore it to pieces before leaving it in a school bathroom Sept. 5. The teen told police he did it to excite his friends who could not attend a Rage Against the Machine concert with him in Minneapolis during the Republican National Convention in St. Paul.
Police referred the student to the county attorney’s office for misdemeanor charges late last week.
Pomeroy said the teen was referred for charges because his department felt something needed to be done about the student’s behavior, but it’s ultimately up to the attorney’s office to prosecute the case.
Kevin Behr may be reached at (507) 453-3524 or at kbehr@winonadailynews.com.
