Ed Huntress wrote:

In that light, I'd say the veterans' response was quite temperate.
They did not harm the offender nor take or destroy his property. They
exercised their first amendment right to "make a statement" with a bit
of duct tape and a sign. Tit for tat, I'd say.

I hope you don't mean that. "Making a statement" by holding someone against
their will, and all the rest of it, constitutes kidnapping under the law.
It's a felony everywhere in the United States. It also constitutes battery
(and probably assault, depending upon the circumstances), but kidnapping is
the felony.

The question I have is whether the kid went willingly. I wouldn't object to
what was done to him if, in his more sober moment, he thought it was fair
and went along willingly. If he didn't, I'd arrest the participants, get a
change of venue, and prosecute them for felony kidnapping.

He was offered the option of having the cops called, a one on one with
a vet or sitting in the chair. He chose.

Finding a prosecutor who really did believe in the rule of law, and who
wasn't too much of a coward to bring the case, might be another matter.

Depends on what looks better for his career, usually.

BTW, the kid gets misdemeanor destruction of property, unless the flag was
worth enough to make it a felony. The case could be made for that,
considering what people had to go through to get that particular flag.

The kid didn't want the cops brought in. He chose.

David