A Florida man, who was arrested for disrupting the peace in his neighborhood by playing a rock version of the "The Star-Spangled Banner" on a sidewalk, rejected a plea deal offered to him by the court when he appeared before them Monday, according to Legal Insurrection.
Lane Pittman, 22, claimed that accepting the plea deal, where he would be tasked to do community service so the charges against him would be dropped, would be him admitting guilt, which he said is "nonexistent."
"Thank you everyone for the prayers and support! Praying God is glorified through all of this no matter what the outcome is," Pittman posted on his Facebook.
The incident began when Pittman decided to take his electric guitar and play the national anthem on the street outside his friend's house in Neptune Beach on the Fourth of July.
A sergeant from the Neptune Beach Police Department approached Pittman and told him to move out of the street or else he would go to jail. Pittman asked politely if he could play on the sidewalk instead and the sergeant allowed him to.
Pittman then played the song again, this time attracting a crowd of 200 people. Officers then went towards him, pulled him aside, arrested him and charged him for breaching of peace, according to Local 10.
A video of his performance has now gained over 200,000 views on YouTube.
