Alleged Confederate Flag Burner Jailed, Bail Set At $200K

A Pennsylvania man is facing felony charges for burning a Confederate flag earlier this week.

Matthew Becker of Gettysburg remains in York County Jail on $200,000 bail after being charged with felony Reckless Burning charges and other summary offenses, court records show.

The 48-year-old white male allegedly set a Confederate flag on fire Wednesday, the York Dispatch reported. The flag was mounted on the back of a parked car at a local convenience store, the Dispatch said.

Hanover Police told the Dispatch that surveillance footage reveals Becker in the act of setting the fire, which caused the flag to melt on to the vehicle.

Becker’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 25, court records show.

The Confederate flag has been a heightened point of controversy after Dylann Roof, 21, allegedly killed nine people during a Bible study inside a historic black church in Charleston, S.C. in June.

Lawmakers in South Carolina voted earlier this month to remove the flag from statehouse grounds in response complaints and protests.

In June, a woman was arrested after she climbed a flagpole near the South Carolina Capitol, snatched the Confederate flag and climbed down with it.