Man Attacked at Bend Protest After Lawful Flag Burning 

3/30/2026, BEND, Ore. — Under a gray Central Oregon sky, a crowd of nearly a thousand people gathered in downtown Bend this weekend for the “No Kings” protest—an event meant to send a unified message to Washington: the people are not happy. From rising food costs and loss of healthcare to the rollback of protections for women and people of color—and now, an escalating conflict in Iran—the frustrations were palpable. Yet even amid the righteous anger, the crowd’s energy was peaceful, electric, and full of purpose. 

The lineup of speakers reflected that intensity. Each one spoke with conviction, calling for empathy, justice, and collective responsibility. But it was one speaker, Luke Richter of The Central Oregon Peacekeepers whose act would turn the otherwise harmonious gathering into a moment of turmoil. Not because he did anything wrong, but because his form of protest did not agree with the feelings of several people attending the event. No Kings yes, but his form of protest was seen by some as disrespectful and felt the need to intervene in a 100% LEGAL activity.

Standing before the crowd, Richter made a startling but deliberate announcement: he intended to burn an American flag. “I will now be taking part in one of the more extreme forms of protest I have ever taken place in,” he declared. “I will be burning this flag as a symbol of the failure it has become. From the ashes will rise a nation we all want to be proud of again and one that will show strength and resolve.” 

He had the legal right to do it. The U.S. Supreme Court has long affirmed that flag burning is a protected form of free speech under the First Amendment. The flag was his property, and Richter took precautions. He ensured the space was safe and had a fire extinguisher on hand.

But before the flames ever touched the fabric, the atmosphere changed. What began as a lawful, symbolic gesture of protest quickly turned chaotic. One protester after another confronted Richter. Even snatching the flag out of his hands several times. Some of the crowd began to chant "Don't burn the flag!" Richter did not fight back, instead he turned his back to the attacks.

“I was pushed, I had water thrown on me, I was made to bleed, I was screamed at,” Richter said afterward. “A good friend of ours was spit on, and ultimately, after letting a portion of the flag burn, I had to destroy the rest of it with my hands. The flag was ripped out of my hands multiple times. I got it back each time and defended myself in doing so.” 

Though emotions had surged all afternoon, this was the only moment when the unity of the crowd cracked. Police were eventually called, not for those who attacked, but for Richter himself, despite the fact that he had broken no law. The irony stung many who witnessed it.

This was supposed to be a protest in defense of rights—the kind that protect expression, dissent, and peaceful resistance. Yet one of its own was vilified for exercising exactly those freedoms. It raises a hard question: how can we demand justice, tolerance, and reform if we refuse to extend those same principles to one another? 

No matter how uncomfortable symbolic acts may feel, the right to protest peacefully is not conditional. Richter’s act did not harm anyone, nor did it threaten public safety. What harmed the spirit of the day was intolerance—the refusal to let someone express dissent in a legal, deliberate, and peaceful way.

He didn’t break the law. But in that moment, the crowd tried to break something far more fragile: the commitment to let every voice, even the difficult ones, be heard.

Bend still has alot of work to do.

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