Neb. Man Found Guilty of Hate Crime Against Lesbian Couple

A Nebraska man was found guilty of a felony hate crime Wednesday for stealing a lesbian couple's pride flag, setting it on fire and waving it in front of their home, Omaha.com reports.

Douglas County District Judge Duane Dougherty convicted Cameron Mayfield, 24, of the crime, which occurred in March 2015, and set his sentencing for August. Mayfield faces up to two years in prison or five years probation.

Mayfield's lawyer, James Martin Davis, argued the incident was a drunken prank and not a hate crime. He added that Mayfield didn't know his neighbors were gay when he lit the LGBT flag on fire around 12:30 a.m. on March 1, 2015.

"Just because the victims are gay doesn't make it a hate crime," Davis said, according to Omaha.com.

Mayfield testified he did not know he was vandalizing a gay pride flag, and thought it was a spring ornament. He added he was unaware the couple, Ariann Anderson and Jess Meadows-Anderson, were gay.

Prosecutor John Alagaban argued Mayfield passed three or four homes before deciding to steal the pride flag. He said Mayfield climbed the couple's fence, jumped to yank the flag down, then went back over the fence and rushed to his home. He then got a can of gas out of his garage, soaked the flag and set it on fire. Alagaban said Mayfield then walked 300 yards back to the couple's home and stood in the middle of the street, waving the flag.

The couple said they were frantic and checking their home, worried someone was breaking in.

"Primarily, they were scared about their safety," Alagaban said, according Omaha.com. "He took all those steps to get this done. His actions were too purposeful to not be targeting this couple and that item."

At the time of the incident, Ariann Anderson told local news station WOWT Mayfield's actions go "beyond vandalism or a threat. That's a direct attack."

"You almost feel bad for a minute," Meadows-Anderson added. "He's a young man and he made a hate-filled, drunken mistake that will have a lasting effect on his life and his family."

After the incident, the women, who were married in Iowa in 2011, released a statement and condemned Mayfield.

"Had the man who burned our gay pride flag burned our Husker flag, we would have still called the police - but we wouldn't have felt as threatened," they said. "We wouldn't have wondered 'what's next?' What became so clear to us after Saturday night, is that the intent really does make a difference. Seeing him waving that burning symbol of a controversial, and inherent part of our being(s) as a minority, in front of our house as a clear message, made it scary. It made it an attack as opposed to a prank."

Watch WOWT's March 2015 report below.