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JeDonna
Matthews
Dinges,
the
victim
of the
hate
attack,
gives
her
remarks
during
the
rally at
St.
Ambrose
Church,
Sunday,
Feb. 21,
2021 in
Grosse
Pointe
Park,
Mich.,
following
a white
resident's
display
of a Ku
Klux
Klan
flag in
a side
window
facing
her
home.
Dinges
said the
klan
flag was
hanging
next
door in
a window
directly
across
from her
dining
room.
The
incident
occurred
two
weeks
ago.
(Clarence
Tabb,
Jr./Detroit
News via
AP)
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No
charges
after
klan
flag
hangs
next to
Black
family's
home
By
Staff
writer
apnews.com
GROSSE
POINTE
PARK, MI
- A
prosecutor
declined
to file
charges
Tuesday
against
a
suburban
Detroit
man who
displayed
a Ku
Klux
Klan
flag in
his
window
next to
the home
of a
Black
family,
saying
the
“horrible
conduct”
doesn’t
violate
Michigan
law.
An
ethnic
intimidation
charge
would
require
physical
contact,
property
damage
or
threats
of such
activity,
said
Wayne
County
Prosecutor
Kym
Worthy.
“I
strongly
encourage
the
Michigan
Legislature
to look,
revise
and
create
laws to
protect
citizens
from
this
kind of
horrible
conduct,”
said
Worthy,
who is
Black.
JeDonna
Dinges,
57, of
Grosse
Pointe
Park,
said the
klan
flag was
hanging
next
door in
a window
directly
across
from her
dining
room.
The
incident
occurred
two
weeks
ago.
The
flag was
removed
after
police
with
large
cloths
visited
the home
and made
a
switch,
City
Manager
Nick
Sizeland
told the
Detroit
Free
Press
last
week.
The
man’s
girlfriend
claimed
they
couldn’t
afford a
curtain,
Sizeland
said.
“There
is
absolutely
no
question
that
what
happened
to Ms.
Dinges
was
despicable,
traumatizing
and
completely
unacceptable,”
Worthy
said.
“But,
very
unfortunately
in my
view,
not a
crime.
The KKK
flag,
while
intending
to be
visible
to Ms.
Dinges,
was
hanging
inside
of her
neighbor’s
house.”
The
klan was
a
secretive
society
organized
in the
South
after
the
Civil
War to
assert
white
supremacy,
often
using
violence.
Dinges
said she
understood
Worthy’s
position.
“I
hope the
lawmakers
are
listening.
... The
average
person
would
not own
a klan
flag,
which is
a true
symbol
of
hatred,”
Dinges
said.
Dozens
of
people
turned
out for
a Feb.
21 march
and
rally to
support
her.
Before
the flag
incident,
Dinges
said she
was
concerned
about
her
safety
after
finding
a full
gas can
inside
her
outdoor
recycling
bin.
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