Maryland students charged with hate crime for actions including ‘Nazi salutes’

Three students who attend a middle school in Huntingtown have been charged as juveniles for allegedly violating Maryland harassment and hate crime statutes.

Calvert County State’s Attorney Robert Harvey identified three 13-year-old students attending Plum Point Middle School as those charged after they “displayed swastikas, made Nazi salutes, and directed offensive comments to a classmate because of the classmate’s religious beliefs.”

“Maryland was founded on the principle of religious toleration,” the state’s attorney said in a news release Friday. “It is frankly astonishing that nearly 400 years later some people continue to persecute others based upon their religion.”

The alleged behavior began in December 2023 and continued over several months, according to the state’s attorney office. Harvey said Maryland State Police investigated the matter before the case was handed to the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services.

“I call upon parents, educators, and community and faith leaders to make sure that our children know that religious persecution has no place in our society,” Harvey said.

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