Judge tosses flag desecration charge; was pipeline protest

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A flag desecration charge was dropped Monday for a man who protested a crude oil pipeline that crosses his property by hanging an American flag upside down at his home, online court records show.

Homer Martz, 63, was charged Friday under a state law that makes it illegal to defile, cast contempt upon, satirize or deride a flag. That law, however, was declared unconstitutional by a federal judge in December 2014 and state prosecutors were told not to enforce it.

The law, which lawmakers have not removed from the books, says law enforcement officers have a duty "to enforce the provisions of this chapter, and for failure to do so they may be removed as by law provided."

Calhoun County Attorney Tina Meth Farrington filed a motion to dismiss the charge Monday, saying that she read the 2014 federal ruling and concluded she shouldn't pursue the charge.

Read more: http://www.newspressnow.com/news/state/judge-tosses-flag-desecration-charge-was-pipeline-protest/article_324c0c17-e118-5c9c-817c-1c2cc3a49272.html