OSU student who peed on pride flag charged in court
Back in February, a Reddit user posted a video of a young college student peeing on the Pride Flag that resides on their front porch and yelling a discriminatory, homophobic remark, twice, while his friend video recorded the entire thing. At one point, the student tells his friend to keep recording, (“get one more,” he says), while he then proceeds to bang loudly on the house.
“I’m asking for your help,” the post reads, attaching the video of the incident. “Please help us find the individuals responsible.”
21 year old Trey Fetzer was caught by police around two weeks later after CPD saw the post on Reddit, and had initially been charged with ethnic intimidation, criminal misconduct, disorderly conduct, and criminal trespassing.
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On Wednesday, July 24, Fetzer pleaded guilty, but only to the criminal trespass charge, which meant he could have been sentenced to jail for up to 30 days. The other charges were dismissed, although the victims posted on their Reddit that this was a hate crime.
Fetzer had to pay a $250 fine, plus court costs, and he’s serving one year of probation, ordered by Judge Jim O’Grady at Franklin County Municipal Court. Although the 30-day jail sentence could have been ordered, Fetzer wasn’t sentenced to jail.
Judge O’Grady told Fetzer in court, “You need to understand that what you did was horrible, and that’s a nice way of putting it…I just can’t understand why someone would do something like this. People never cease to amaze me with the hate they’ll have and the things they’ll do.”
Assistant Attorney Joe Gibson said in a release that Fetzer also attended lectures and volunteered with Stonewall, as well as participated in counseling services. Although Ohio State University suspended Fetzer over his actions, he has since been reinstated.
The released statement from the victims said, “When Mr. Fetzer urinated on our property and shouted vulgar threats to us, he didn’t just go where he wasn’t supposed to and damage property. He sent a message to us and those like us that we don’t belong here and should hide who we are. We refuse to do that. This act sent a message to the LGBTQ+ community of Columbus that you might be next. Mr. Fetzer may not have considered the impact this act had, but we’re all affected by his actions just the same.”
They continued, “We live here in Columbus because it’s generally a safer and more welcoming place for us. Some of us moved here from other parts of Ohio specifically for that reason. Mr. Fetzer chipped away at that sense of safety, and needs to be held accountable for doing so.”
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