Two accused of burning flags plead not guilty

Two men accused of burning two flags at a Beach Park church pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Lake County circuit court.

Kevin Gieseking, 19, of Beach Park and Joseph Mitchell, 17, of Waukegan face up to five years in prison if convicted of criminal damage to church property.

Mitchell also faces an additional seven years in prison if his probation for a Waukegan burglary is revoked.

Police said Mitchell and Gieseking were drinking beer in the area of the Beach Park Community Church, 37285 N. Green Bay Road, on the night of Aug. 4.

Authorities said the two set fire to ropes holding an American flag and a Christian flag to their respective poles, causing the flags to fall to the ground.

The pair ripped the flags apart when they failed to burn completely, police said.

Officials said they were not making any kind of political statement by burning the flags and described the incident as simple vandalism.

The flags were replaced by community members in the days following the incident.

On July 6, Mitchell was placed on three years' probation after he pleaded guilty to burglary.

A felony charge of disorderly conduct lodged against him in May alleging he wrote a threat on a bathroom stall at Waukegan High School was dropped in exchange for his plea in the burglary case.

Circuit Judge George Bridges scheduled a trial in the flag-burning case for Oct. 22 and ordered both men to appear in court again Sept. 25.