Student Who Pissed on Pride Flag Avoids Prison
The 21-year-old was fined $250 and given probation after doing community service for LGBTQ organizations and attending sensitivity training.
A man accused of yelling anti-gay remarks while urinating on an LGBTQ Pride flag was recently sentenced to a fine and one year’s probation after prosecutors decided not to pursue hate crime charges.
Trey Fetzer, a 21-year-old Ohio State University student, was arrested back in February after being caught on a home surveillance video urinating on the flag, which was hanging from the front porch of a home in the Weinland Park neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio.
He then banged on the doors of the duplex and yelled homophobic remarks, saying, “Fuck the gays,” and making a vulgar gesture with his middle finger. The video shows another young man, who has not been identified, filming Fetzer’s stunt on his phone.
Following his arrest, Fetzer was charged with “ethnic intimidation,” otherwise known as a hate crime charge, along with criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, and criminal trespass.
At the time, Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein justified the hate crime charge, alleging that the college student’s acts were done “in an attempt to intimidate members of the LGBTQ+ community,” and promising to prosecute similar “hate and bias crimes.”
But last week, Fetzer was sentenced to a $250 fine and one year of probation after pleading guilty to the criminal trespass charge. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to drop the other three charges against him, reports Columbus-based ABC affiliate WSYX.
Even under the criminal trespass charge, Fetzer could have been sentenced to up to 30 days in prison. But it appears that the victims of the attack — in a show of compassion and forgiveness — may have urged prosecutors to be more lenient, in exchange for Fetzer agreeing to perform community service and attend bias and sensitivity training.
“City prosecutors consulted the victims at every step of the process, who expressed an interest for mitigation in the case, which would allow the defendant to plead only to the misdemeanor criminal trespass charge after completing an extensive list of restorative justice actions,” Klein’s office said in a statement to WSYX.
“Over the past five months, the defendant performed a number of service hours volunteering for Stonewall Cincinnati at the city’s pride festival, attended lectures and classes with Stonewall Columbus, and met additional requirements to be reinstated at The Ohio State University,” the statement added.
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In handing down a suspended sentence, Franklin County Municipal Court Judge Jim O’Grady told Fetzer he was lucky he wouldn’t serve jail time.
“You need to understand that what you did was horrible, and that’s a nice way of putting it,” O’Grady said. “I just can’t understand why someone would do something like this. People never cease to amaze me with the hate they’ll have and the things they’ll do.”
Fetzer told O’Grady in court that he was intoxicated on the night in question and has learned from his mistakes.
“It’s not the man I was raised to be. I was raised to respect everyone, no matter who they are,” he said. “My actions have deeply affected a lot of families and people, and that’s not what I wanted to happen. I want everyone to be happy and respected by everyone else. Nothing like this will ever happen again.”
Fetzer’s attorney Hank Schaab, told the Columbus Dispatch that Ohio State University had suspended Fetzer following the incident, but has since reinstated him after the 21-year-old completed multiple requirements to return in good standing.
After conversing with attorneys for the defense and prosecution outside the courtroom, O’Grady warned Fetzer that any new criminal charges — particularly involving similar behavior or alcohol — could lead to future legal problems. For instance, violating his probation within the next year could result in having to serve out the suspended sentence.
“You knew it was wrong and you knew you were being dumb. It’s really problematic,” O’Grady told Fetzer. “I hope you take to heart everything I said. Hopefully, the programming and the classes you went to do change you.”
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