Three middle school students in southern Maryland have been charged with hate crimes for displaying swastikas, giving Nazi salutes and making derogatory comments about their classmates’ religion, county prosecutors said.
Officials with the Calvert County State’s Attorney’s Office said the harassment began in December and did not stop despite repeated requests from the students. The victim eventually reported the act to the Maryland State Police, who investigated and filed charges against the students.
All 13 defendants are students in grades six through eight at Plum Point Middle School in Calvert County, located about 80 miles southeast of Washington, D.C. Their names are being withheld because they are minors.
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Officials said the charges will be referred to the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services for appropriate action.
Prosecutors announced the charges in a news release last week. They did not elaborate on the alleged derogatory remarks.
Three middle school students in Maryland have been charged with hate crimes in connection with a harassment incident.
“Maryland was founded on the principles of religious tolerance,” State Attorney Robert Harvey said in a statement. “It’s frankly astonishing that nearly 400 years later, there are still people who continue to persecute others on the basis of religion.”
Calvert County Public Schools officials did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Monday.
The school system’s website includes a statement about how it handles allegations of racism and other forms of discrimination.
“Calvert County Public Schools unequivocally condemns racism, bullying, discrimination, white supremacy, hatred, and racial inequality in any form within our school community,” the statement said.
Anti-Semitic incidents in Maryland have nearly doubled in the past year, according to a report released in March 2023 by the Anti-Defamation League. Similar incidents of anti-Semitism have increased across the country in recent years.
In response to the 2023 report, Maryland Governor Wes Moore called the increase “absolutely unacceptable.”
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“I want Marylanders to hear me loud and clear: Hate has no place in our state,” he said in a statement at the time. “I will not allow these alarming acts to go unnoticed.”
