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Greenpoint Man Arrested For Allegedly Burning Midtown Pub's American Flag On Sidewalk
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 10, 2013
Modified Jul 10, 2013
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 10, 2013
Modified Jul 10, 2013
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The man accused of setting fire to the American flag hanging from the Playwright Tavern's awning has been arrested. Police say Jeffery Schorfheide, 26, of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, was charged with reckless endangerment, hate crime, criminal mischief and arson, but last night he was arraigned on all those charges except the hate crime.
Pub co-owner John Doherty had just become an American citizen, so he hung the flag outside. However, on July 5 at 4:35 a.m., the flag was incinerated by a passer-by. Surveillance video shows the firebug repeatedly trying to spark the flag with a cigarette lighter as other pedestrians walk by. And then the suspect smoked a cigarette and took photos on his cell phone. Doherty said, "Nobody did nothing about it, to my amazement."
View more videos at: http://nbcnewyork.com.
The fire, which spread to the awning, was put out by pub workers. Kimberly Kolbert, who manages the pub, told NBC New York, "I think he's a dangerous person. He obviously doesn't care who he could have hurt or what could have happened. He should be held accountable for his actions."
Schorfheide, who the Post says is Canadian-born, reportedly admitted to cops it took him a few tries to burn the flag. The damage to the awning is about $3,000-4,000
Tagged
arson
fire
hate crime
playwright tavern
reckless endangerment
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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