Authorities said they will not file charges against a person who hung a flag depicting a Nazi swastika on the Burnett Avenue overpass in Morgan Hill.
Santa Clara County Supervising Deputy District Attorney Michel Amaral said the DA’s office has concluded an investigation into the March 21 incident and decided it will not charge the person who displayed the flag over Highway 101 with a crime.
Amaral said after investigating, his office determined there was not enough evidence to support a criminal charge that would lead to a conviction in a criminal court.
“The decision was made to not file charges because we do not believe there is proof beyond a reasonable doubt to support a conviction,” Amaral said. “When we charge a case, there has to be a specific, identifiable victim. No matter how abhorrent the display of that image is, we have to make sure the speech involved is criminal in nature, weighing against any free speech issues involved.”
The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office the afternoon of March 21 responded to reports that someone had hung a Nazi flag on the north Morgan Hill overpass where supporters of President Donald Trump had gathered for a political demonstration.
Arriving deputies removed the flag and began investigating the incident as a possible hate crime, authorities said. Investigators identified and interviewed a person responsible for hanging the flag.
Officers from the Morgan Hill Police Department and the California Highway Patrol also responded to the March 21 reports.
The sheriff’s office submitted the case to the DAs office for review. That review is now complete, Amaral said.
The person who hung the Nazi flag has not been publicly identified by police or the DAs office.
Photos of the swastika flag posted to social media on March 21 also show a Russian flag flying next to it.
