In the town of Columbia, Pa., a man who was driving a pick-up truck with a confederate flag has been arrested and charged with pulling out a knife on a group of Black and Hispanic teens. David Chohany allegedly said racial slurs against the teens, who he says provoked him to brandish his knife for self-defense.
As reported by local outlet Lancaster Online, the incident took place on Monday in the middle of a busy intersection in the Lancaster County borough. Several bystanders used their cell phones to take video of the altercation between the teens and Chohany, stopping traffic and drawing a huge crowd. Police were on the scene in an attempt to quiet the crowds, but not before one of the teens snatched flag and begin to defile it.
More from Lancaster Online:
Columbia Mayor Leo Lutz said a man parked his truck, displaying a large Confederate flag in its bed, in the 500 block of Walnut Street.
“Another individual was a little upset, and ripped the flag off,” he said. “That caused a fight between two of the individuals.”
As the fight progressed, a large group of people gathered. Lutz said he did not hear reports of knives and did not believe anyone was hurt in the incident.
Police closed off Walnut Street, between Sixth and Seventh streets. Lutz said, and the additional departments were called in to “defuse” the situation.
The truck was moved out of the block and its owner was taken to the police station, Lutz said. No further information was available from police.
Some shaky video footage of the incident made its way to The Realest People of Lancaster Facebook page. The boy who took the flag, a 16-year-old New Jersey resident, stepped on the flag and tried to flush it down a toilet.
Local outlet Fox 43 spoke with Chohany, who said he doesn’t fly the flag because he hates others but that he has the right to do so. Chohany admitted to pulling a knife but that he was simply defending himself and his family.
Watch Fox 43’s video report below of the confederate flag tussgle in Columbia, Pa.
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Photo: Facebook
