A sheriffâs deputy was wrapping up a traffic stop at a Utah gas station last week when he saw a teen take a âback the blueâ sign â which urged support for police officers â and stomp on it after her friend was pulled over.
The teen, identified in court documents as 19-year-old Lauren Gibson, then allegedly crumpled it up in a âdestructive mannerâ and threw it in a trash can, Garfield County Sheriffâs Deputy Cree Carter wrote in an affidavit. The officer, who accused Gibson of allegedly âsmirkingâ at him âin an intimidating manner,â arrested her.
Now, in addition to disorderly conduct, Gibson has been charged with âcriminal mischiefâ with a hate-crime enhancement. The latter crime, county prosecutors allege, was committed with âthe intent to intimidate or terrorize another personâ in violation of Utahâs 2019 hate-crime law, the Washington Post reports.
âDue to the demeanor displayed by Gibson in attempts to intimate law enforcement while destroying a âPro Law Enforcementâ sign the allegations are being treated as a âHate Crimeâ enhanced allegation,â Carter wrote in his affidavit.
The misdemeanor carries a maximum one-year sentence.
In an interview with the Daily Beast, Gibson said the charges against her came as a shock. Sheâs not âanti-police,â she said. But she became upset when the deputy, she alleged, displayed an aggressive attitude toward her friend whom he had stopped for speeding. A friend traveling with the group had previously found a âback the blueâ sign on the side of the road and kept it, so Gibson went and got it.