Anti-Trumper rips flag off vehicle, runs over it several times, gets arrested

By
Ben Nelms
-
24
6528

A DeKalb County man who thought he was “doing a good thing” by ripping a political flag off a vehicle at The Avenue in Peachtree City then driving over it several times was charged with disorderly conduct for his deed.

Peachtree City Police Department spokesman Chris Hyatt said 19-year-old Hilton L. Patterson, of Scottdale, was charged with disorderly conduct in the Nov. 12 incident.

Hyatt said the juvenile daughter of the vehicle owner was in the car while her father was inside a store. Patterson approached it and ripped a “Trump 2020” flag off the vehicle, threw it in the parking lot, then entered his vehicle and proceeded to drive over it several times before leaving the area.

A witness got Patterson’s tag number and provided it to police, Hyatt said, adding that Patterson was subsequently contacted by officers.

Patterson admitted to the action, telling police he felt like he was doing a good thing, said Hyatt.

In another incident, a Tyrone man on Nov. 13 was charged with disorderly conduct following an incident at Big Daddy’s Oyster Bar in the Crossings East Shopping Center on Ga. Highway 54 East.

Hyatt said Remberg S. Salamanca, 35, was charged in the incident.

Hyatt said an officer was flagged down by security at 2:24 a.m. about an incident that had occurred.

Video showed Salamanca at the bar and refusing to leave when approached by security staff who subsequently poured his drink out and attempted to escort him to the door.

Salamanca grabbed the bar, and had to be pried off it before being escorted out the door, Hyatt said.

Salamanca was charged at the scene.

24 COMMENTS

    • I’ve lived in Cleveland, OH for a few years car free. Cleveland has a lot of room for improvement, but adding more cops doesn’t reduce crime rate significantly. Much more effective at reducing crime rates per dollar spent is homeless shelters and similar programs.

  2. I’m back…
    Dekalb Dude should have received an educational physical adjustment, because be terrorized a minor child, by local community monitor and while being transported to ER informed there will be no free Starbucks card for him during this visit to PTC.

  3. The two-ton elephant in the room we aren’t talking about is that he thought he was doing something good. That is sad and serious. Stop, take a deep breath and think for a second. Where do you think he may have gotten the idea of destroying other people’s property to make a political statement is a good thing? A sign is not your enemy. The notion you can destroy a sign not yours is. We all have the same right to support whoever we think is the best choice. However some think they know better than others and will social lynch and destroy another person to make their point. The time is coming when people will loose their patients.

  5. This act is a hate crime and should be charged as such. The fact that a child witnessed this is unimaginable. A ticket is a slap on the wrist and this man should be in jail. I’m tired of people getting away with violence in the name of a movement. Peachtree city police used be less tolerant of crime. Very disappointed PCPD!

  6. As the owner of the Trump flag and the parent of the minor in the car, I would like to thank the officers involved in this matter. They were caring, timely, and professional.

    However, this article is slightly deceiving. The subject was given a city ordinance citation of disorderly conduct and released. I feel that state charges and an arrest (transported to the Fayette County Jail) would have been appropriate, as my daughter was traumatized by this terrible incident.

    I have contacted Peachtree City Police, and hopefully they will be as responsive to my request to escalate this matter to state or superior court.

    I don’t care who you voted for or what your opinion of our sitting president is, there should be no tolerance for this kind of criminal activity, especially in front of children.

    • I have called the state capital and here is our state rep. contact info:
      18 Capitol Square
      601-A Coverdell Legislative Office Bldg.
      Atlanta, GA 30334
      Phone: (404)656-0254
      Fax: (404)651-9715
      Email: [email protected]

      I am sure Josh Bonner will be very interested in your case. Also, contact the state attorney generals office and you may want a local attorney to bring civil charges against this individual for the harming of your child.
      You have to make this individual pay.

          • Right on Stranger than Fiction

            What is Truth?
            Subjective or objective?
            Many think it depends on who is the judge….it is always objective under the law….or we hope so.

        • Far Out Bluegolfcart…..how long ago were we 7th safest….who minds if we go to 9th or 10th or 11th…..as we approach that slope consider the effects of petty crime left unaddressed….that would mean PTC eventually becomes something very different.
          I’ve been her 35 years….I see the drift….but if you came from someplace else PTC is still unmatched by most towns.
          Just saying keep eyes open.

          • That’s not how crime works, broken window theory has been tested and disproven. The idea is if small crimes go unpunished people are more likely to commit bigger crimes. However, a report released by the New York Police Department’s inspector general’s office found “no evidence” that the drop in felony crime during those six years was linked to the quality of life summonses or misdemeanor arrests, which also declined during that time.