DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The prosecutor in a northwest Iowa county will not pursue a flag desecration charge against a man who protested a crude oil pipeline crossing his property by hanging an American flag upside down at his home. Homer Martz was charged Friday under a state law a federal judge ruled unconstitutional in December 2014. The Iowa Legislature has declined to remove the law from the books.

Calhoun County Attorney Tina Meth Farrington says the sheriff’s deputies who charged Martz weren’t aware courts had struck down the law. She called on lawmakers to repeal it immediately “so that other citizens and law enforcement are not caught in this type of situation again.”

Martz, a 63-year-old U.S. Army veteran, is upset the state is allowing Texas-based Dakota Access to forcefully condemn his property.