Confederate flag supporters are facing terrorism charges after a county grand jury in Georgia indicted 15 members of the group Respect the Flag for a confrontation with people attending a children's party.
The flag supporters were charged with violating Georgia's Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act and terroristic threatening for a July 25 incident when they stopped near a home in Douglasville, where the party was taking place, and words were exchanged with party-goers, said
WTTG-TV.
"We do want to say that we respect the rights of all citizens to exercise their First Amendment right, but we're going to require them when they're doing that to respect the rights of all of the citizens to feel safe," said Douglas County District Attorney Brian Fortner.
"Georgia's street gang, terrorism and prevention act is worded very broadly to deal with any type of activity that occurs with a group that's organized that commits a crime," he said.
Melissa Alford, who hosted the children's party, claimed the group interrupted the celebration by yelling threats and racial epithets, according to the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Video captured on a cellphone showed Douglasville police holding back a group of African-American men and women while seven pickup trucks drove off. White passengers were seen on the video with Confederate, American and military flags mounted on the trucks.
"One had a gun, saying he was gonna kill the (racial slur)," Alford told the Journal-Constitution in July after the incident. "Then one of them said gimme the gun, I'll shoot them (racial slur)."
One of the truck drivers named in the indictment, Levi Bush, told the newspaper in July that his group was leaving an event and just happened on the party. He said the party-goers started yelling at them and throwing rocks.
Bush said he tried to drive away but got a flat tire and pulled into a driveway, where party-goers surrounded him and made threats. He conceded that a racial slur may have been used while his friends were trying to defend themselves.
"Basically about eight of us had to hold 15 to 20 of them back," said Bush.
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