SALT LAKE CITY – A Utah woman has been receiving death threats after burning an American flag at an anti-Trump rally in Salt Lake City.
Hundreds of Utahns marched up State Street to the Utah State Capitol on Thursday in protest of the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States.
Crystal Hall was in attendance with some friends.
“We have to protest. We have to show that we can`t stand by him no matter what happens," Hall said.
Hall took her frustration a step further by burning an American flag.
“I didn’t say a thing the entire time. I just stood on the steps, lit it, held it aloft and then, once it got too hot for my hands, I dropped it,” Hall said.
Hall says she did it to stand up for veterans who were treated badly by Trump.
“There was one person in particular that had to be held back because he was taken aback,” Hall said.
The photo of her burning the flag was shared on Facebook hundreds of times. Many were upset that Hall would display what they saw as a disservice to veterans – the day before Veterans Day.
Hall said she received 20-40 threatening emails per hour.
“Lots of really negative, hateful emails, hateful messages and death threats, people telling me to leave the country, say I should be imprisoned, un-American,” Hall said.
Some had assumed Hall was a debate coach at West High as suggested on her Facebook Page, adding to the backlash. She later clarified that she had only been a volunteer coach for the team last year.
“It’s been frustrating that people have taken this view, that it’s somehow his fault or the school's fault because I act on my own accord,” said Hall.
Hall, a college student, said the threats have rattled her enough that she has notified school leaders.
Hall believes the more she tries to defend herself, more harassment could follow.
“If we’re talking about these sort of issues and why they’re important, then I think it’s more important to talk about these things and be able to put a face to put with these ideas," Hall said.
