RantCrush Top 5: February 28, 2017

Kayla Norton, 25, and Joe Torres, 26, were sentenced yesterday to 20 years and 15 years in prison, respectively. The couple rode around Atlanta for two days with about a dozen others causing mayhem, waving the Confederate flag, and shouting racial slurs. At one point, they specifically targeted a black child’s birthday party. They aimed a loaded gun at guests and threatened to kill them, using the n-word.

This incident happened shortly after Dylann Roof attacked a black church, and the group, using the name “Respect the Flag,” may have been upset by South Carolina’s removal of the Confederate flag from the statehouse. In court yesterday, Norton cried and insisted, “that is not me.” But the judge, William McClain, did not give in. “If you drive around town with a Confederate flag, yelling the n-word, you know how it’s going to be interpreted,” he said.

Confederate flags, racial slurs & armed threats… Prison for 2 who threatened violence at child’s party https://t.co/gNfeFDVFXC (📷: @ajc) pic.twitter.com/VLTj9Q5rqG

— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) February 28, 2017

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.