Prosecutors argue that Cameron Mayfield committed a hate crime when they say he stole the flag, set it on fire and ran back into the couple's yard.

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Cameron Mayfield is facing a felony charge for burning a neighbor's gay pride flag last year.He would have faced a misdemeanor, but prosecutors allege his actions are a hate crime, which raises the stakes.Mayfield insists the incident was a prank.Both the defense and prosecution agree on a few things: Mayfield went onto the victim's front porch, took their flag and burned it. However, his lawyer is arguing that it wasn't a hate crime, claiming Mayfield didn't know the homeowners and wasn't aware of their sexual orientation. The incident occurred on March 1 near 31st and Vinton.Homeowners Ariann Anderson and Jessica Anderson said they were startled awake by what sounded like someone breaking into their home. They then say they saw someone drive away in a van and someone come toward their house waving the burning flag. "He would like to say it was a drunken prank, but it doesn't feel that way," Ariann Anderson said. "It doesn't seem that way. It didn't feel that way. It didn't feel that way at the time. What we saw in front of our eyes on that March night, it was very clearly targeted specifically at us. And why? Why did he go specifically out of his way to jump a fence to frighten us? To intentionally frighten us. Why? That's pretty clear, that reason is pretty clear."Defense attorney James Martin Davis argued that there's no evidence the flag was burned in front of the home. Police said they discovered the flag in Mayfield's basement.