ROCKLAND, Maine — City police are asking for the public’s help in catching a woman who tore down a Confederate battle flag being displayed in the back of a pickup truck.
The woman’s action was caught on video with a camera phone by Jacquelyn Thorbjornson of South Thomaston, who happened to be parked near the pickup truck at the time.
Thorbjornson said she was at Harbor Park in Rockland late Tuesday afternoon with a running buddy and was using her smartphone for Snapchat when she saw a woman stomping over to the pickup truck. Thorbjornson said she decided to use her phone to record video, suspecting something was going to happen.
The incident occurred between 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tuesday. The owner of the truck, Rebekah Hilt of Waldoboro, had parked her truck and gone for a walk. Hilt reported the theft that evening when she returned to the truck, but police had no leads until they learned a witness had videotaped the incident and Hilt posted it on a personal Facebook page.
Hilt of Waldoboro said she was upset when she found the flag had been stolen. She said she wants the person prosecuted.
Display of the Confederate flag has generated considerable debate since nine people were gunned down June 17 at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church in Charleston, South Carolina. Dylann Storm Roof, 21, who has been charged with those murders, was pictured holding the flag on a website that also carried a racist manifesto.
Those calling for the removal of the flag from public display argue it is a symbol of racism, slavery and oppression of African-Americans. Defenders of the flag see it as a symbol of Southern pride, heritage and history.
Hilt said she means no harm by flying the flag that was given to her as a gift.
“It’s just fun,” Hilt said.
She said she does not believe the flag stands for slavery, adding that both the Civil War and slavery ended long ago.
Rockland police spoke with Thorbjornson, the witness, to make sure the video was authentic and then re-posted the video on the department’s Facebook page. Anyone with information on the theft is urged to call local police at 594-0316.
Rockland police Sgt. Donald Finnigan said if the suspect comes forward, he expects she would be issued a summons for theft. The department also wants to have the property returned to its owner, he said.