A jury found student Peter Lynch guilty of criminal damage to property Wednesday.
In September, Lynch removed a Mexican flag from a pole outside Scholes Hall, tore it and took it to the Air Force ROTC office.
Bernalillo County Metropolitan Judge Clyde DeMersseman gave Lynch a six-month deferred sentence. Lynch must replace the flag, serve 48 hours of community service and attend anger management classes, DeMersseman said.
Lynch, 30, said he has not decided whether he will appeal the ruling.
Lynch, a veteran, said he tore the flag because it violated flag protocol, and it was flying on U.S. Constitution Day.
He said he notified University staff and the Army ROTC that the Mexican flag was flying without an American flag beside it before he took it down.
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"I'm really still kind of floored that I was found guilty of a crime in America," he said. "I do think that my actions may have been slightly overzealous, but given the gravity of the situation - I was a cub scout, you know. I've learned when I was 7 years old how to raise and lower a flag and fold it. I feel strongly about the colors of the United States of America. That's what it's all about."
DeMersseman said Lynch's service in the Air Force did not excuse his actions.
"There has been no evidence presented in trial which disputed that the defendant had acted out of his own sense of patriotism," he said. "However, the jury found that destroying somebody else's flag is illegal - whether it's an act of patriotism or something else."
Nancy Sepulveda, an El Centro de la Raza employee, said the judge should have given Lynch a stricter sentence.
"There was some concern he might be found not guilty, so the verdict itself is great," she said. "As far as the restitution he was given - I don't think that it's stringent enough."
Lynch said he tried giving El Centro de La Raza a replacement Mexican flag in September, but it refused to accept one.
"I tried to make restitution," he said. "I tried to be the best man I had to be. I didn't intend any harm on any person, and I didn't intend for this to get so out of control. I just didn't want my nation to be insulted."
Sepulveda said she didn't know if El Centro de La Raza would accept a flag from Lynch even if the court had ordered it.
"That would have to be the decision of our director and the other employees," she said.
Lynch said he hopes the center will allow him to make amends.
"I hope we can all be grown-ups about it and just move on," he said.
