No, this is not a case involving an unconstitutional crackdown on a gay bar. Two fire-breathing bartenders — Tegee Rogers, 33, and Justin Fedorchak, 39, — are the center of an interesting legal fight. The two men face up to 45 years in prison each for performing flaming bar tricks at Jimmy’s Old Town Tavern in Herndon, Virginia.
The bartenders are popular attractions as they juggle bottles of alcohol and spit streams of flames. The act has been going on for over a decade, but the police arrested the men and charged them with three felonies and some misdemeanors, including manufacturing an explosive device, setting a fire capable of spreading, and burning or destroying a meeting house.
The manufacturing of an explosive device is the interesting one since they use their mouths. Once again, like the recent bust of the dry ice man, the charges appear a bit excessive. I can well understand the need to shutdown the act and even cite the bar for the violations. However, 45 years in prison?
The owner says that he never received any prior warning, has used the fire-breathing act as part of his formal advertising for years, and has arranged for the act at events for retiring firefighters. He questions why he can serve flaming desserts but not flaming bartenders.
Source: Washington Examiner
Ditto
Flambeed desserts are a lot more contained than spitting out a stream of flaming alcohol, so that’s a somewhat silly comparison.
That said, I would think that it would be more proper to cite them with something along the lines of a building code violation. These folks really do make asses of themselves by bringing “bomb making” charges.
As a certain hair metal band found out, despite building codes and inspections, bars can be surprisingly flammable, and bars full of drunk people usually react badly to a sudden fire (or even someone yelling “fire”). Shutting down the act might be prudent, but bringing criminal charges like this is asinine.
Somebody’s mad that they didn’t get a second cherry with their Manhattan.
Fairfax County fire investigators . . . don’t you clowns have something better to do than harass a local business owner over a practice that hasn’t injured anybody or anything in 13 years? You geniuses had better look at arresting Gene Simmons too the next time Kiss comes to town. Oh, that’s right. He’s got enough money to bury you for wasting his time.
Nitwits.
Why the hell not….