RICHMOND, Va., March 6 (UPI) -- The Virginia Supreme Court has upheld the convictions of two men who tried to burn a cross in a couple's Virginia Beach yard.
The case against Richard Elliott and Jonathan O'Mara drew special attention last year when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled states could ban cross burning when it is intended as a threat, and not simply as a symbolic expression.
The Washington Post reported Saturday the Virginia Supreme ruled the two men were correctly found guilty under a portion of the law that criminalizes cross burning as a means of intimidation.
The federal high court last year validated a portion of Virginia's 50-year-old law on cross burning, but ruled that a provision that makes such a burning a threat under any circumstance was flawed.
While the ruling had a broad effect, the justices sent the case of Elliott and O'Mara back to the state court.
Virginia officials said Elliott will complete a 90-day jail sentence and O'Mara will have to finish his 45-day sentence.
