Officials with the Calvert County State’s Attorney’s Office said the harassment began in December and the students refused to stop despite repeated requests. The victim ultimately reported the behavior to Maryland State Police, which investigated and filed charges against the students.

The defendants, all 13, are students at Plum Point Middle School in Calvert County, which serves students in sixth through eighth grades and is located about 50 miles (80.5 kilometers) southeast of Washington, D.C. Their names are being withheld because they’re underage.

Officials said the charges will be forwarded to the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services for appropriate action.

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Shit kids from shit parents. I’m Jewish and when I was in high school, a kid stole a book I was reading and drew a swastika on every page and gave it back to me. He didn’t get in any trouble. This is why hate crime laws are a good thing.

    • quindraco@lemm.ee
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      8 months ago

      I’m jewish and can’t disagree with you any harder than I already do. Those kids stole your property and then damaged it, both of which are crimes that should be prosecuted. Adding thoughtcrime charges on top damages the 1A without any meaningful benefit.

      I was physically assaulted for years as a kid. I dreamt then and I dream now of school students being held criminally accountable for their criminal behaviour. And bear in mind, I also support noncriminal punishments, like school detention, suspension, or expulsion, for noncriminal behavior, any or all of which might have been appropriate for those swastikas. But there’s just no good reason to give those kids extra time in juvie because the symbols they chose were swastikas, not penises.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        Hate crimes are often prosecuted as separate from other crimes and there’s good reason for that.

        It wasn’t white people who were getting lynched in large numbers in the U.S.

    • andrewta@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      Not saying it’s OK what they did. I’m about fifty years old. When I was in middle school, kids did this and they definitely didn’t get it from their parents. Some kids are just as assholes that think they are funny. The kids need to be punished. They need to take classes on what these symbols mean and what nazis did. But I can’t just blame parents. Sometimes kids just do stupid shit.

    • Rose Thorne(She/Her)@lemm.ee
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      8 months ago

      Don’t know the truth of it, but there’s a particular old house in Germantown that was always whispered as “The old Klan house”. The story was that back in the day, it was owned by a high-ranking member. Was absolutely wild to think about when I was younger, just out of the sheer diversity I saw every day.

      Wasn’t until I was older that I noticed how bad some places could really be. Kinda fucked me up for a minute, after growing up hearing how progressive the state was.

  • Winter8593@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    the students refused to stop despite repeated requests

    Truly awful behavior. Most certainly ruined their futures. Hope the victim is okay.

  • sugarfree@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Without violence involved it should be a school matter in my opinion, I fail to see how it is in the public interest to proceed with these charges.