Salem mom says her American flag was vandalized after speaking out about masks

SALEM, Ohio (WKBN) — A Salem mother said she’s been the victim of vandalism for standing up for her children.

Last week, several Salem mothers pushed for mask mandates in Salem Schools after an 8-year-old was hospitalized with COVID-19.

Bekka Russell is one of those mothers. Over the weekend, she said someone set her American flag on fire in her front yard.

She believes it’s retaliation for speaking in favor of mask mandates in schools.

All that’s left of Old Glory is the charred flagpole and burned pieces on the ground.

“Called the police right away when he noticed the flag had been burned right on the pole. Across our street there were two flags that are intact, so clearly we were targeted. We’ve always felt targeted. This is just an outward sign of the internal symbols that we’ve noticed over the years,” Russell said.

Anyone with information about the incident should call the Salem Police Department.