Man sets fire to more than a dozen US flags hanging outside homes, California cops say

Residents of a Long Beach neighborhood say they are puzzled and frightened after a man set fire to more than a dozen U.S. flags hanging from their homes.

“It was terrifying,” resident Alexis Lenon told KNBC. “Somebody on your property burning a flag? It’s pretty scary. We have a baby in the house. That was our first thought.”

Long Beach police arrested a 35-year-old Laguna Niguel man accused of setting fire to more than a dozen flags early Thursday, Dec. 8, KTLA reported.

Home security video obtained by the station shows a man igniting one U.S. flag hanging outside a home in the early morning hours.

“It was just so casual the way this person walked up and took the time and the lighter and the whole bit,” resident Jane Andrus told KTLA. “We just can’t believe this is happening.”

One burning flag set fire to a convertible parked underneath, KTTV reported. Firefighters responded about 4 a.m. and doused the flames.

The man who was arrested faces 13 counts of arson, one count of arson to an inhabited structure and one count of parole violation, police told the Los Angeles Times.

Police arrested him Thursday afternoon after another call to assist at a fire, according to the publication.

Long Beach is a city of 466,000 people about 25 miles south of Los Angeles.

This story was originally published December 11, 2022 at 7:31 AM with the headline "Man sets fire to more than a dozen US flags hanging outside homes, California cops say."