A California woman was arrested on Thursday after removing an American flag from a Bakersfield park and replacing it with the Mexican flag.
The Kern County Sheriff’s Office identified the suspect as 24-year-old Crystal Aguilar. Deputies responded to a report at 9:36 a.m. that someone was attempting to steal the American flag off a pole and from the park.
When the deputies arrived, they found Aguilar near the flagpole with her car stuck in the mud. Authorities say she had cut the chain securing the flagpole, removed the American flag, and thrown it into the mud before raising Mexico’s national flag in its place. Video footage shows Aguilar being confrontational and resisting arrest.
“When Park Rangers attempted to detain Aguilar, she physically resisted and made multiple verbal threats against them,” the release said.
“You’re not going to tell me what to do, this is Mexican land,” Aguilar told police in a video to YouTube, adding an obscenity.
She was booked into jail on charges of trespassing, threatening a peace officer, resisting arrest, vandalism, and possession of marijuana in a park. According to KBAK-TV, Aguilar had staged a similar protest the day before, claiming she was speaking out against President Trump’s immigration policies and sharing that her parents had been deported.
Republican Congressman Vince Fong of California responded to the incident, stating that attacking the American flag was the wrong way to voice frustration. Aguilar remains in custody as the case sparks debate over immigration protests and respect for national symbols.
