Source: Office of United States Attorneys
WASHINGTON – Michael Snow Jr., 24, of Durham, North Carolina, was arrested this morning in connection with a federal criminal complaint charging him with destruction of federal property. The complaint alleges that, on July 24, 2024, Snow destroyed an American flag by setting it on fire as a crowd surrounded him chanting “Burn that sh–.”. Moments before, two other individuals took down the flag, which was flying on one of the flagpoles at Columbus Circle in front of Union Station in Washington, D.C.
The charges were announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani of the FBI Washington Field Office Counterterrorism Division, and Chief Jessica M. E. Taylor of the U.S. Park Police (USPP).
Snow will make his initial appearance this afternoon in U.S. District Court in the Middle District of North Carolina. He is charged federally with willfully injuring or depredating any property of the United States.
“Stealing a federal flag and burning it is not speech, it’s destruction of federal property,” said US Attorney Graves. “Hundreds of thousands of people engage in lawful First Amendment protest activity every year in the District of Columbia without incident. The relatively few who chose to cross the line from protest to violence and destruction will be held accountable for the crimes they commit.”
“The FBI does not conduct investigations based solely on First Amendment activities,” said SAC Virmani, “but the FBI will not tolerate those who commit destruction of federal property in the guise of First Amendment activity. That includes taking and burning a federal flag from a federal flagpole as Snow allegedly did.”
According to court documents, on July 24, 2024, an organization was granted a permit to demonstrate in the area of Columbus Circle, located at Massachusetts Ave. NE, and E St. NE, directly in front of Union Station. From about 3 p.m. until 5 p.m., demonstrators gathered in Columbus Circle pulled down flags affixed to the flagpoles; burned flags and objects; sprayed graffiti on multiple statutes and structures; and interfered with law enforcement’s ability to place individuals under arrest.
The flags pulled down from the flag poles, and the statutes and structures in Columbus Circle, are all property of the federal government. The National Park Service estimated the total cost to clean up and repair the site at $11,282.23.
Screen shot from a closed-circuit camera shows Snow (circled in yellow) as he grabbed the fallen American flag from the halyard.
A review of open-source and U.S. Capitol Police surveillance footage show that two individuals lowered an American flag affixed to the eastern flagpole in Columbus Circle. After it was lowered, the flag fell to the ground still attached to its halyard. An individual man later identified as Snow grabbed the flag and carried it into the crowd of protesters.
After throwing the flag onto the ground, the man produced a lighter and held it up to the flag in an apparent effort to light the flag on fire. The man was initially unsuccessful and yelled to the crowd: “I need a better lighter!” Individuals in the crowd surrounding the man chanted “Burn that sh–!” Another open-source video captured images of the man as he attempted to torch the flag.
After the failed attempt to light the flag, someone in the crowd handed Snow a bottle of charcoal lighter fluid. Snow doused the flag with the fluid, then, along with an unidentified individual from the crowd, used lighters to set the flag ablaze.
On July 25, 2024, a user on the social media platform “X” (formerly Twitter), posted pictures in an apparent effort to identify the man who torched the flag. As a result, law enforcement located a driver’s license photograph of Michael Snow, Jr., who resides in North Carolina. Snow’s identity was further confirmed when law enforcement interviewed individuals who personally know Snow, who identified him in a photo from July 24, 2024.
Screenshot from open-source video shows Snow (circled in yellow) and another individual (circled in blue) lighting the flag on fire.
Screenshot from open-source footage depicts Snow (circled in yellow) on the flag
pedestal while the other individual (circled in blue) parades around the
burning American flag.
The case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office and the USPP’s Intelligence and Counterterrorism Unit, with assistance from the FBI Charlotte Field Office, Raleigh Resident Agency. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Martin.
A criminal indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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