A Hobart, Ind., pair have been charged with intimidation and criminal recklessness after being accused of driving a set of twins off the road in July for having pro-Trump flags on their bikes.
Kyren G. Perry-Jones, 23, and Cailyn M. Smith, 18, have each been charged with two counts of intimidation and criminal recklessness, both felony charges, as well as one count each of misdemeanor theft and criminal mischief in the July 22 incident, according to a probable cause affidavit. Charges were filed Thursday because detectives were waiting information from Snapchat, a social media platform.
The boys told Hobart police they were riding their bikes when a blue Chevrolet Malibu began following them, according to the affidavit. The people in the car—identified later as Perry-Jones and Smith—allegedly yelled expletives at the two and told them to “pull that flag down.”
A Snapchat video Smith allegedly filmed shows Perry-Jones driving the Malibu, court records said. Perry-Jones allegedly swerved and drove the car directly toward the boys through several yards yelling, ‘Y’all better get home,’” court records state.
Perry-Jones also asked one of the boys if he was a fan of President Donald Trump, which he said he was, records state.
“Y’all scared, just like your president … America is not great, (racial epithet),” Smith was heard saying on the Snapchat video.
Perry-Jones allegedly threatened to beat the boys up for calling 911, court records state. He also said that if police questioned him about it, he would just say the boys called him a racial slur, the court document said.
One of the boys told detectives Smith snatched their flag while filming the video, so they chased after the car. Only after the boys threatened to call police did the couple drop the flag and intentionally run it over with their vehicle before fleeing the area, records state.
On Aug. 6, detectives received a search warrant for the Snapchat videos, and it wasn’t until Nov. 7 that they received the video content from Snapchat, according to the affidavit.
Smith is in custody at the Lake County Jail, while Perry-Jones is at large, Hobart Police spokesman Capt. Jim Gonzales said.
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(Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune, a publication of the Chicago Tribune.)
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