Posted on 08/05/2007 3:03:36 PM PDT by BGHater
Buncombe County authorities dropped flag-desecration charges against a couple who displayed an upside-down flag with protest signs pinned to it.
Sheriff Van Duncan said he asked District Attorney Ron Moore to drop charges against Mark and Deborah Kuhn, whose flag included a photo of President Bush with "Out now" written on it.
Duncan also said his office will continue an investigation into the conduct of the deputy who issued the charges after a complaint from a fellow National Guardsman. Duncan said Deputy Brian Scarborough "probably shouldn't have been there to begin with."
The Kuhns also said Scarborough assaulted them.
The sheriff said U.S. Supreme Court decisions have protected flag desecration as free speech and it was doubtful that the county could win a case.
Scarborough charged the Asheville couple July 25. A scuffle ensued, and the deputy put the Kuhns in jail on misdemeanor charges of assault on a government employee, obstruction and flag desecration.
The sheriff's office returned the confiscated flag, which Kuhn said the couple plans to display again. The Kuhns said they displayed the flag upside down to protest the state of the country, though the sheriff's office said the signs pinned to the flag led to the charges.
Duncan said his office received hundreds of calls about the case, some supportive of the deputy and others not. Scarborough, 25, was a reserve deputy before he was hired full-time in June. He also served with the National Guard in Iraq.
The state's flag desecration law had been enforced three times since 1917, according to the state Administrative Office of the Courts.
The sheriff said U.S. Supreme Court decisions have protected flag desecration as free speech and it was doubtful that the county could win a case.
All charges against Mark and Deborah Kuhn related to the display of this flag at their home on Brevard Road have been dropped. In addition to desecrating an Ameircan flag, the couple was charged with two counts of assualt on a government employee and resisting arrest. All charges are misdemeanors.
See Also: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1872823/posts
Looks like two inmates from the lunatic asylum at Morganton have escaped and set up house.
Why is this not a “hate crime”?
Asheville area is being taken over by whackjobs......
Because it’s not a Mexican Flag
Isn’t the best way to deal with creeps like this is to ignore them and not let them know they get to us? Just asking.
MMM. I wonder what mark and deborah would think of the townspeople putting pictures of mark and deborah on signs and hanging them upside down on trees with huge spikes through their faces? Do you think they would think that is “free speech” also?
MMM. I wonder what mark and deborah would think of the townspeople putting pictures of mark and deborah on signs and hanging them upside down on trees with huge spikes through their faces? Do you think they would think that is “free speech” also?
This might be a hate crime to some but when Clinton was re-elected I flew my flag upside down on my flag pole for several months. I too had people stop at my house. No official but people that knew what it meant to fly the flag upside down. I believed then as I believe now, our country was in distress because of Bill Clinton. His actions did more to harm our country’s image than any president I can remember. So I guess, if wackjob applies—I too have to confess.
Why do these people ALWAYS look like greasy hippies?
If the activities of this benighted pair are anything to go on, Buncombe County would seem to have been well-named.
Being? Try has been. Years ago. I left 7 years ago and it was cracked far worse than any other part of the state. This is nothing compared to some of the wacky stuff that goes on in Asheville. Tree worshippers (real self proclaimed druids), the crystal folks are fun to play with (they wear bags of little rocks around their neck), and the tone people, those are the real kooks. They would come into the store I worked looking for high end audio equipment because their doctor just sold them $2000 worth of tapes to play with nothing but tones that would 'heal' them from injuries, disease, etc.
But the topper was the mayor they elected one year. Sort of heavyset woman IIRC that wore long denim skirts and tie dyed t-shirts. So a couple with an upside down flag and some buttons on it is tame thinking about the fruits I met in that town. Even Chapel Hill isn't as wacky as Asheville.
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