![man jailed for burning gay flag man jailed for burning gay flag](https://www.fox23.com/resizer/Tf_2KqxrwEcr3geKP_lGlNVV9Yk=/1200x675/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-cmg.s3.amazonaws.com/public/AXT57IXKTHUVK2VEN3PYVE4DQE.jpg)
Instead, because of his own previous convictions, his sentence for third-degree arson was tripled, from five years to 15 years. Without that criminal history, Martinez would simply have been given a sentence commensurate with a Class D felony, after the addition of the hate crime enhancement. However, that habitual offender mechanism would not have been triggered if Martinez did not already have two felony convictions. A judge in Iowa has sentenced a man to at least 15 years in prison for stealing a Pride flag from outside a church and burning it outside a strip club. Because the hate crime enhancement converted the arson offense from an aggravated misdemeanor to a Class D felony, it also triggered the habitual offender mechanism. So it’s true that the fact it was an LGBT rainbow flag, specifically, did cause Martinez’ punishment to be increased. If the object Martinez burned had been a neutral one (for example, a banner or flag bearing the logo of a brand of beer) then his third-degree arson conviction would not have been enhanced as a hate crime, and he would have received a sentence of no more than two years in prison, likely yielding a total sentence of three years, taking into account the one-year sentence he received for reckless use of fire. However, this does not account for the length of his prison sentence.
![man jailed for burning gay flag man jailed for burning gay flag](http://cdn.images.dailystar.co.uk/dynamic/204/photos/717000/Kiev-Pride-2017-LGBT-parade-Ukraine-980717.jpg)
It’s true that the action that garnered Martinez a total prison sentence of 16 years was setting fire to an LGBT flag outside a bar in Ames, Iowa, in June 2019.