A University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee student was arrested after tearing up a classmate's swastika sign, and now she's fighting to clear her record.
Grae Hosmanek, a junior at the school, was arrested while participating in a student-run event apparently celebrating Israel's Independence, according to Facebook, organized by Students Supporting Israel, a pro-Israel international college campus movement that supports the State of Israel through grassroots advocacy. She told Fox 6 Now that she approached a man holding a swastika sign who was also at the event after watching him interact with other students.
"I kind of watched the interactions he was having with other students, and how they became increasingly upset," Hosmanek told Fox 6 Now, saying that the man was saying things like "Gas the Jews."
"They started threatening violence against him, and in that moment, I was like, 'Friends, hold my stuff. The minute he puts that sign down, I'm going to take it and remove it. This is going too far.'"
The man holding the sign told Fox 6 News he "wanted to spark the conversation" and that it "had nothing to do with actually wanting to offend people."
Hosmanek was filmed grabbing the sign and tearing it to shreds. Police have not released the footage they obtained of the incident.
UWM Police Department Chief Joseph LeMire told Yahoo Lifestyle that the man was not causing a disturbance and that officers warned Hosmanek against intervening.
"[She] ripped the sign out of his hands, and then ran away ripping it up while the officers had to go after her, make contact with her," LeMire told Yahoo News. "We arrested her and brought her back to one of our squad cars."
Hosmanek was cited for vandalism and has to appear in court on September 27. She's fighting the citation in hopes of clearing her record.
"I refuse to accept the charge even though I was offered a $1 plea deal," she told WTMJ. "I don't want this on my record … I don't feel this is right, considering the offender is walking free."
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