A dispute over political flags in Helena, Montana has resulted in one man being cited for disorderly conduct after he allegedly yelled at his neighbor. Michael Challans has since pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and received a $100 fine, The Associated Press [1] reports.
Challans said he apologized to his neighbor, Tim Mielke, prior to a hearing Monday at Helena Municipal Court.
The incident occurred when Mielke arrived home on March 1, when Challans, 43, uttered profanities and anti-gay slurs. The minute-long harangue was captured on Mielke’s doorbell camera. He later posted it to social media.
“I used the wrong words,” Challans said. “I feel horrible for what I said to him. Nobody deserves that.”
Mielke has accepted the apology.
“It seems the issue is resolved and that is fantastic,” Mielke said Monday.
The dispute began after Mielke, decided to hang a flag that said “Trump Lost LOL” in response to Challans’ continued flying of pro-Trump anti-Biden flags four months after Biden won the election.
In the video, a man can be seen yelling at Mielke as he arrives home. The man can be heard calling out to him to remove his flag and yelling that Mielke moved to the wrong neighborhood.
Early on, Challans questioned law enforcement’s decision to cite him.
“I don’t see how I could get a ticket,” he said on March 10. “How could anyone possibly get a ticket for using words?”
This tells me that Challans’ apology may be in the “sorry, not sorry” category, although it’s good he did so. But after the story originally broke he said he’s received threats on social media, including some to set fire to his house.
“What is the difference of what I did to them and burning my house down to make me pay in some kind of way?” Challans asked one journalist before the hearing. “It’s an outrageous double-standard.”
He has half a point there, but people are understandably frustrated after four years of racism, his attacks [2] on the LGBTQ+ community, and misogyny towards women. Nerves are stretched thin even though Trump has been gone for nearly two months and it’s going to be a while before we recover. This doesn’t excuse people threatening to burn down this man’s house but perhaps it’s a good idea not to throw the gasoline on in the first place.
Will he now think twice before raising the Trump flag again?