Stephen Gruber-Miller, and Zach Berg

Press Citizen

FedEx tweeted Saturday morning that Matt Uhrin, an employee who tried to stop the burning of American flags with a fire extinguisher Thursday in Iowa City, will not be fired.

The official corporate Twitter account for FedEx tweeted at 7:30 a.m. Saturday: "We have reviewed the matter in Iowa City involving driver Matt Uhrin. He remains a FedEx employee & we have no plans to change his status."

As of 1:40 p.m., the message had been shared over 4,000 times, and liked over 10,000 times on the social media platform.

Uhrin of Cedar Rapids rushed into a group of protesters who were burning American flags on the Iowa City pedestrian mall in front of the Old Capitol and tried to extinguish the flames, sparking a confrontation. His actions turned the FedEx employee into an internet lightning rod.

The incident was captured on video, turning Uhrin into an online sensation and prompting praise from right-wing sites like The Blaze and figures including Ann Coulter.

Many people on Twitter pleaded with FedEx not to fire Uhrin, although some were less sympathetic.

Uhrin could not be reached for comment Friday. At the protest on Thursday, he also declined to comment except to say that his actions were not related to his employer.

An online petition was also circulating on Friday demanding that he keep his job.

"Let's make sure Matt Uhrin keeps his job at FedEx," the petition said. "He was standing up for our American flag and should be commended, not punished."

As of Friday evening, nearly 3,000 signatures had been gathered.

The protesters on the ped mall were burning flags in a stand against racial and social injustice and U.S. imperialism, members of the group said, and the demonstration was not intended to oppose military veterans.

"When I see the flag, I see racial injustice," Paul Osgerby of Iowa City said Thursday. "I see social injustice from Native American genocide to African-American slavery to failing to recognize women as citizens until the 20th century."

Osgerby, 23, and Kelli Ebensberger, 21, were both charged with violating Iowa City's public burn ordinance, a simple misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail or a fine of up to $625. They are both scheduled to appear at the Johnson County Courthouse on Feb. 23 at 8 a.m.

Iowa City Police Sgt. Scott Gaarde said the two were charged because they failed to seek a permit from the fire department to burn the flags, not because of what they were burning. An Iowa law making it illegal to defile, cast contempt upon, satirize or deride a flag was declared unconstitutional in December 2014.

Reach Stephen Gruber-Miller at 319-887-5407 or sgrubermil@press-citizen.com. Follow him on Twitter: @sgrubermiller.