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Home Front: Culture Wars
Yale trio charged in city flag burning incident
2007-04-04
h/t The Corner
NEW HAVEN — Three Yale University students are charged with burning an American flag hanging from the porch of a Chapel Street home early Tuesday in the Wooster Square neighborhood. When detained by police a few blocks away, they allegedly acknowledged it was a "dumb thing to do," according to a police report on the incident.

Hyder Akbar Said, 23, Nikolaos Angelopoulos, 19, and Farhad Anklesaria, also 19, were arrested on a range of charges including two counts of first-degree reckless endangerment, third-degree criminal mischief, second-degree arson, breach of peace, and conspiracy to commit second-degree arson.
So their names weren't Tom, Dick and Harry?
Police listed HyderÂ’s last name as Akbar Said, while Yale has him listed as just Hyder Akbar.

The three students spent the night in jail and appeared dazed at their arraignment Tuesday morning when they entered Superior Court in leg irons and handcuffs. Bail was kept at $25,000 for Angelopoulos and Akbar, but was reduced to $15,000 for Anklesaria. They remained jailed Tuesday night.

Superior Court Judge William Holden rebuffed requests by Deputy Assistant Public Defender Sanford O. Bruce III that the three men be released on a written promise to appear, since none of them had previous arrests. "Is there probable cause to believe a crime was committed? Yes. Is the (alleged) crime of a serious nature? Yes," Holden said in maintaining the higher bail.

In AngelopoulosÂ’ case, Assistant StateÂ’s Attorney Karen Roberg said, "He had a lighter on his person."
Of course he does, after all, he's an arsonist.
Roberg added the arson charges to the initial police charges, substituting it for reckless burning. She refused to explain why, when asked by a reporter.
Because it's obviously arson?
The two freshmen, Anklesaria and Angelopoulos are foreign students: Anklesaria is British and Angelopoulos is Greek. Akbar, a senior, was born in Pakistan, according to police, but is a U.S. citizen. Both Anklesaria and Angelopoulos had to turn over their passports.
So a couple of American-hating Greek students and a Pak-born fellow who didn't quite absorb the civics lessons on our country.
Marc Suraci, 37, owner of the two-story house on Chapel Street where the flag was burned, was upset when informed of the incident by the Register. He said he always puts flags out front of his rental properties. "It makes me sick to my stomach to think that someone would burn the American flag," said Suraci, who described himself as "very, very patriotic."

Suraci said several of his relatives fought in American wars to defend the constitutional right to burn the flag as a protest. "But, it gets to another level when it is somebody elseÂ’s flag on their own personal property," Suraci said. He feels flag burning should be illegal.

According to the police report, the students had two encounters with officers. Officers Stephanija Van Wilgen and Diane Gonzalez were responding to an unrelated call in Fair Haven at about 3 a.m., when they saw the three young men walking on Chapel Street on the bridge into Fair Haven.

They flagged the officers down, said they had been at a friendÂ’s house and asked how to get to back to Elm and High streets downtown, police said. The officers gave directions and continued to the call.

A short time later, the two officers returned to Chapel Street to see if the students had found their way home. "As they approached 512 Chapel, there was a glow in front of the house which they identified as a flag mounted on a pole to the house and it was engulfed in flames," said police spokeswoman Bonnie Posick. They noticed the three students were a few blocks away.

Van Wilgen pulled down the burning flag to prevent the fire from spreading and Gonzalez tracked down the three men. The three students admitted igniting the flag, according to the police report, which doesnÂ’t indicate if they gave any reason.

Akbar was wearing a hooded sweatshirt that read in bold letters, "I am Famous in Afghanistan," according to police. The political science major was quoted in a Yale Daily News story last year that he was a native of Afghanistan.
Puffed himself up for the chic radical student newsrag, did he?
Thomas Conroy, spokesman for the university, said Yale was aware of the incident and officials either had been or would be in contact with the students.

Friends of the two freshmen were shocked when told of the arrests and found the situation totally out of character. Neither was seen as particularly political. "It would never have occurred to me about either Nick or Farhad. We have political discussions all the time and he is definitely a moderate," said freshman Matthew Smith of Angelopoulos. "Wow. ThatÂ’s a night that went wrong," Jason Gilliland said.
Actually, I could believe that he is indeed a 'moderate'. By Yale standards.
Posted by:mrp

#6  Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Tom, Dick, and Larry.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2007-04-04 18:10  

#5  But it's NOT OK to burn an arab flag.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305   2007-04-04 15:04  

#4  I agree about flag-burning being protected speech, but that's only when you own the flag. Setting fire to someone else's property is arson and vandalism.
Posted by: SteveS   2007-04-04 14:38  

#3  A rather convoluted path to prosecution, since the burning of the US Flag is a protected act under the First Amendment, no matter how repulsive is is. Not to say I am against it; i appauld these very resouceful individuals. I am concerned however about the alleged charge of carrying a 'concealed lighter' w/out a permit. when is that a crime?
Posted by: USN, Ret.   2007-04-04 14:28  

#2  And I here I thought all the Yale boys were named Biffington or Prescott. Perhaps these scholarships could go to a more deserving trio.
Posted by: ed   2007-04-04 09:35  

#1  The two freshmen, Anklesaria and Angelopoulos are foreign students: Anklesaria is British and Angelopoulos is Greek. Akbar, a senior, was born in Pakistan, according to police, but is a U.S. citizen.

First the lash. Then transportation.
Posted by: Excalibur   2007-04-04 09:29  

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