A Santa Ana family says they feel targeted for expressing pride in their heritage, with the Mexican flag removed from their home and threats sent to replace it. spoke.
Carlos Antunez and his parents proudly displayed the Mexican flag outside their Santa Ana home where they have lived for 20 years. The family says this is a meaningful way to honor their heritage.
“We’ve never had an issue where someone can’t express what they think or we can’t put up a flag. That’s something we thought about, too,” Antunez said.
On October 21, security cameras outside Antunez’s home captured a man tearing off the Mexican flag and the pole on which it was flying in his front yard.
The family initially thought it was an isolated incident, but were surprised to find hateful posts immediately after the flag exchange. A note wrapped around a stone left in front of the house warned the Antunes family in broken Spanish to lower the flag.
A home with “USA” spray-painted on the front fence was also destroyed.
“When I saw this, I was like, I, you’re shocked, you can’t believe it, right away my thought was, okay, this person might have been the first to take the flag. It could be the same person who stole it,” Antunez said.
The Santa Ana Police Department has launched a hate crime investigation into the theft and vandalism.
“We’re concerned about where they’re going to stop, where they feel like enough is enough, right? If we don’t respond to the request to take down the flag, even if that happens, this person is going to stop at us. There is no guarantee that the harassment will stop,” Antunuez said.
Despite the safety concerns, Antunes says the flag will remain.
“We stand our ground. We have no intention of escalating or confronting this individual, but we will do our best to spread awareness and protect ourselves and our community,” Antunez said. Ta.
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