Montclair Woman Tore Down Greek Flags, Thought They Were Israeli: PD

MONTCLAIR, NJ — A Montclair resident has been charged with bias intimidation and harassment after she ripped down Greek flags outside a local diner several months ago, mistaking them for Israeli flags, authorities announced Thursday.

According to the Montclair Police Department, the incident took place around 5:50 p.m. on March 11 at Efi’s Gyro, a Greek restaurant on Bloomfield Avenue.

The restaurant owner told police that an unknown woman approached the business and ripped down a string of Greek flags and decorative lighting that was attached to the awning on the Park Street side of the building.

Here's what happened next, police said:

"At the time, the female suspect was reportedly yelling at the restaurant workers, and it appeared the female was taking a video. An employee, who was present during the incident, stated that she was approached by the suspect, who began asking if the workers at the restaurant were aware that there was a 'genocide going on.' She repeatedly said that she did not support this, while holding the Greek flags in her hand. The suspect also yelled out that 'they’re killing children,' and asked the workers if they were proud of their heritage. When it was then pointed out to her that the flags she ripped down were Greek flags, the defendant responded, 'Oh I thought it was Israel, my bad.'"

Police responded to the scene and spoke to the restaurant owner after the encounter took place. The case was immediately assigned to the MPD bias incident investigator and shared with the Essex County Prosecutor's Office and the New Jersey Attorney General's Office, as per standard procedure, authorities said.

After reviewing surveillance video footage, detectives determined that the same woman had visited the restaurant about a week before ripping down the flags, handing out fliers that referenced the war between Israel and Palestine.

Montclair police got another break in the case when a TikTok user posted a video of the encounter on Oct. 15, which showed the incident from the woman's viewpoint. It was accompanied with a caption: "The time I mistakenly thought the flag for Greek was for [Israel and] took the restaurants flag down OMG [sic]."

"I don't stand for Zionism," she declares in the video.

The video since has been widely shared and has seen tens of thousands of comments, many of them questioning why the user would post it and whether it was a prank.

The owners of the restaurant have confirmed online that the incident was real, adding that they are not affiliated with the woman in any way.

On Thursday, Montclair police announced that they have identified the woman in the video as Amber Matthews, 23. She was charged with bias intimidation and harassment on Tuesday, and is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 3.

“Montclair is a community that strives to treat all individuals with dignity and respect,” police chief Todd Conforti said.

“I hope this investigation sends a clear message that our agency will not tolerate any form of harassment or discrimination,” Conforti said.

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