Why I’m glad this man was arrested for posting Facebook photos of him burning American flag

So this happened:

Bryton Mellott, 22, posted several photos on Facebook on July 3 showing him burning the American flag. On the photo post, he included a statement about why he is “not proud” to be an American.

“In this moment, being proud of my country is to ignore the atrocities committed against people of color, people living in poverty, people who identify as women, and against my own queer community on a daily,” Mellott wrote.

Before the photos were deleted, they were shared thousands of times on Facebook.

Urbana Sgt. Andrew Charles told The News-Gazette that his department started receiving calls about the Facebook photos. Charles looked at the post, and said he saw many people making violent threats directed at Mellott and his place of employment, Walmart.

Urbana police released a statement on Monday that said, “the volume of responses and specificity of threat against his place of employment (a location where an act of violence would likely cause harm to others), prompted police involvement in this case.”

Charles told The News-Gazette that he spoke with Mellott and with Walmart about the pictures. The police said they told Mellott that they “understood his freedom of speech,” but they said they believed his posts were putting his safety at risk as well as the safety of others.

According to police, Mellott continued to post similar photos to Facebook, so police arrested him under the state’s flag desecration law.

If this guy thinks that our country is so terrible, why doesn’t he just leave?

We live in the greatest nation, with so many opportunities for every single person. This kind of immaturity, and lack of judgement is a big middle finger for the men and women who sacrifice their lives everyday for our freedom.