Upside Down Flag: Charges Dropped, Full Story, Follow-up & LTTEs

[G_j]

Asheville, NC:

http://www.mountainx.com/news/2007/charges_dropped_in_flag_desecration_case

Charges dropped in flag-desecration case
by David Forbes on 08/02/2007


All charges in the case of activists Mark and Deborah Kuhn, arrested on July 25 in an incident involving alleged flag desecration are being dropped, Buncombe County Sheriff Van Duncan announced this afternoon. An internal investigation of the arrests is continuing. (For the complete background, see the article “Flag Fight.”)

“We have conferred with the district attorney and are dropping the charges,” Duncan said. “We’ve reviewed the issue and the Supreme Court rulings in this matter are very clear, as is a 1971 North Carolina case deciding this statute unconstitutional. We don’t have a good charge here and it wasn’t proceeded with in the proper manner.”

He added that while the other charges in the case — two counts each of assaulting an officer and resisting arrest — “probably are prosecutable, we don’t feel the original charge was and we don’t feel it’s prudent to proceed with those.”

..more..

http://www.mountainx.com/news/2007/flagged_down_activists_arrested_in_row_over_protest_flag_allege_abuse_by_bu

Flagged down: Activists arrested in row over protest flag, allege abuse by Buncombe deputy
by David Forbes on 07/26/2007

The Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office arrested activists Mark and Deborah Kuhn in West Asheville Wednesday morning after a complaint that the couple was desecrating an American flag. They say a deputy invaded their home and used excessive force.

The flag was hung upside down as an act of protest and had several statements pinned to it, including a picture of President Bush with the words “Out Now” upon it and one explaining the meaning of the upside down flag, a sign of distress.

The Kuhns, along with several neighbors and witnesses, assert that a sheriff’s deputy violently invaded their home at 68 Brevard Road. The sheriff’s office claims that the couple assaulted deputy Brian Scarborough and resisted arrest.

According to the report from the sheriff’s office, Scarborough arrived at the home at 8:45 a.m. in response to a complaint about the desecration of a flag.

..more..

LETTERS:

http://www.mountainx.com/opinion/2007/shock_and_awe

I was astounded to read the Mountain Xpress article <"Flag Fight,” Aug. 1> about the Buncombe County Sheriff’s deputy who doesn’t understand the United States Constitution, including the Bill of Rights—the first of which guarantees citizens the right to freedom of expression.

Oh, wait! There’s a local ordinance. Too bad. Federal law takes precedence over state and local laws. That’s because we are the UNITED States. Is this a difficult concept? Has the First Amendment not been tested and re-tested by our nation’s Supreme Court?

And police brutality as well as false arrest?

Just because Citizen A doesn’t agree with the political opinion of Citizen B, that doesn’t give anyone the right to pull the stunts that occurred in this situation. It’s glaringly obvious to a great number of Americans just who the lawbreakers are.

And while I’m at it, I’d like to address citizens in your locale who call themselves “Christians.” Do they realize that nationalism and patriotism are forms of idolatry that detract from our worship of and love for God? Jesus never taught nationalism or patriotism, and in fact he refused to get caught up in the politics of his day. He refused to assist the zealots in their efforts to escape Roman rule. He taught love and peace—and if we, as a people, would keep that in mind, there wouldn’t be a need for people to protest how our nation is being run.

Thank you for considering my opinion on this matter.

http://www.mountainx.com/opinion/2007/what_the_flag_really_represents

What the flag really represents
by Sean McNeal in Vol. 14 / Iss. 02 on 08/08/2007

Fascism: a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce etc., and emphasizing aggressive nationalism and often racism (http://www.thedictonary.com).

Though it may surprise many of my friends, this is the first letter of this kind that I have ever written. Many events transpire in our society that give me pause, but I have always chosen other avenues to express my dismay and/or outrage. At this moment, however, I feel compelled to make my voice heard through this particular medium and to stand in solidarity and support with members of our community who have been wronged.

I was appalled to learn about what transpired against the Kuhn family on July 25 <"Flag Fight,” Aug. 1 Xpress>. If an ordinary citizen had been responsible for these atrocious acts, they would have been arrested. As it happens, the “perp” appears to have been an officer of the law. And as happens time and time again, the officer in question is apparently attempting to lie—in the face of witnesses—to avoid censure or punishment. Deputy Scarborough should be ashamed. If truly believed in the ideals of the country that this flag represents (freedom of speech, freedom of dissent—you know, the Constitution!), he would turn in his badge and offer his sincerest apologies to the Kuhns and his community. If he has perpetrated this alleged crime against his fellow citizens, whom he is sworn to protect, he would realize this goes against everything we say our country stands for.

I can’t help but wonder what punishment, if any, will be meted out to someone who is allowed to carry a gun and decide, on his own, who is acting appropriately and who is not. I think this man should, at the very least, be suspended without pay until a full investigation is conducted. And apparently, at the time of the Xpress article—a full week after the incident—the officer in question is still free to impose his particular beliefs on other unsuspecting citizens.

I call on all residents of Buncombe County and all readers of this paper to stand up against this despicable violation of our neighbors’ civil rights.

Write letters to this and other (local and national) publications; call the office of the sheriff and demand justice; raise your own flag in distress. The moment that a community sides with the state and with oppression—actively or with silence—instead of standing by their neighbors, all is lost.

To paraphrase Mr. Kuhn, it’s time to wake up, Buncombe County.

[dkofos]

1. I hope that doesn't stop the law suit

[zehnkatzen]

2. That national laughing-stock thing is a b*tch, innit Buncombe County? k&r n/t

[redqueen]

3. Can they pin it all on Fife?

[PetrusMonsFormicarum]

4. Asheville is as close to blue

as you're gonna get in western North Carolina, but it's stilll surrounded by bumchew towns, trailer park meth factories, and dipshit cops. I used to live in Arden, just south of Asheville, but being originally from Rhode Island, I was known as a damn yankee (What's the difference between a yankee and a damn yankee? A yankee comes to visit; a damn yankee stays.")

A friend of mine from Fort Bragg was up around Asheville with some army buddies. They had tied one on and he was best fit to drive. Even sober, though, he had a lead foot, and at 2 am just south of Asheville, they got pulled over by a county mountie. The cop is wearing sunglasses and a broad-brim hat (it's 2 am remember?). He walks up, bends down to get a good look at my friend's Rhode Island license plates, and shakes his head. He then comes over to the driver's side door, sticks his entire head in the car which is already full to bursting with soldiers, and says "You boys are a looooonnnng way from home to be fuckin' up like this."

Leave it to a backwards town to dispatch police out to a flag desecration as if it was a shooting.

[sonias]

5. Congratulations to the Kuhns!

They did the right thing and didn't back down. And kudos to their neighbors who wrote in to support them as well. And oh that little thing called the bill of rights and freedom of speech, well it worked this time.

:applause::applause::applause:

Sonia

[Hissyspit]

6. .

[seemslikeadream]

7. Fascism

[G_j]

8. a white rose

http://www.holocaust-history.org/short-essays/white-rose.shtml