Two recent local incidents have reignited a broader conversation in Savannah about where the line is drawn between constitutionally protected free speech and actions that cross into harassment or intimidation.
On Monday morning, around 25 cars paraded through downtown Savannah waving American and Israeli flags to celebrate the Gaza cease-fire and the release of hostages.
According to a Savannah Police (SPD) report obtained by the Savannah Morning News (SMN), officers responded to a fight near Bull Street and West 37th Street. A woman on the sidewalk reportedly began yelling profanities at the caravan and threw a rock at one of the vehicles.
One person exited his car to confront her, according to the official report, grabbing her wrists before returning to his vehicle after she spit on him. The woman then approached another car and allegedly tried to grab an Israeli flag from a 12-year-old girl. In the struggle, the flag hit a 12-year-old boy in the face.
“She was pulling it out, trying to get out and she couldn’t, then I guess she let go and it kinda hit him in the face,” the flag-waving juvenile girl said in the police report.
An officer confirmed with the boy that he was not punched, though other members of the caravaning celebrants later claimed he was. Both children were checked by EMS and cleared.
“This is a hate crime, 100%,” a man quoted in the police report later said during a phone call. He did not want to be identified by name as he feared politically motivated retribution. “We want her (the woman on the street who attempted to take the flag and allegedly threw the rock) to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” He asked to remain anonymous in fear of retribution.
“We will not let one individual shadow the way we feel towards the local community that we are a part of,” he said. “Savannah is one big community where there are differences between what people think about each other, but at the same time, it’s one community.”
Just days earlier, another incident raised similar concerns within Savannah’s LGBTQ+ community.
Savannah’s First City Pride Center hosted the 7th annual Stonewall Block Party on Bull Street. This year’s event celebrated the 1969 riots against police raids of Greenwich Village’s Stonewall Inn, which ushered in the modern gay rights movement.
On Oct. 4, during a job fair hosted by the Savannah Pride Center at the Savannah Civic Center, police responded after a man on a bicycle allegedly removed a Pride flag from the building’s exterior.
Michael Bell, director of the Savannah Pride Center, said the man’s actions made attendees feel threatened.
A video Bell shared with the Savannah Morning News shows the man shouting: “Your days are over. Watch yourself. We got the right man in the White House that will get us back to the good ol’ days of this country… Your days are coming lefties.”
According to the police report, the man told officers he believed the flag was “vandalism” and claimed he returned it after being informed of the event.
“What happened on Saturday isn’t an isolated event,” Bell said in a press release. “As long as our safety depends on individual discretion instead of institutional policy, queer and trans people will remain vulnerable.”
Both cases are being reviewed by SPD and the Chatham County District Attorney’s office who said they cannot comment on open investigations.
Theft or hate speech?
The incidents have prompted debate over what constitutes free speech versus harassment — a blurry line that often becomes critical during politically or socially charged events.
David Hudson, a partner at Augusta law firm Hull and Barrett and civil litigation lawyer with an emphasis on media law, said the action of taking a flag is considered theft, even if it is given back. But it is not severe enough to charge someone with hate speech.
Georgia’s hate crime penalty (O.C.G.A. § 17-10-5) allows for longer or harsher sentences if someone commits a crime that appears to be intentionally motivated by bias, such as racism, homophobia or religious discrimination.
But a 2004 Georgia Supreme Court case found the law allowed arbitrary and discriminatory applications, therefore violating the due process rights of defendants.
“It is my view that seeking to take the flag of either group ventures too closely to a First Amendment violation for enhancing the punishment just on the basis of speech,” Hudson wrote in an email to the SMN.
Prosecuting someone for grabbing a flag risks violating their right to free speech, Hudson said, even if that speech is considered to be offensive to some.
Ansley Franco is a reporter with the Savannah Morning News, covering public safety and general assignments. You can reach her at AFranco@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Hate crime allegations in Savannah after Israel and LGBTQ flag disputes
