Amber Matthews, a 23-year-old New Yorker, has been charged with bias intimidation following an incident in which she tore down Greek flags outside Efi’s Gyro, a New Jersey restaurant, on March 11, as she wrongly passed the Greek flag as Israeli.
The incident occurred after the terrorist attack Hamas launched against Israel on Oct. 7 last year and the subsequent Israeli military retaliation.
Matthews, who posted a video of the event to her TikTok on Oct. 15, over seven months after the incident, quickly gained millions of views, sparking outrage online and prompting police action.
Police initiated an investigation in March after the restaurant’s owner, reported that an unknown woman had vandalized her business, tearing down flags and destroying decorative lights while repeatedly shouting “genocide,” accusing the restaurant’s staff of supporting genocide.
Surveillance footage revealed that a week before the vandalism, the suspect had been distributing flyers supporting Palestine, though authorities had little to go on until Matthews’ TikTok video surfaced.
In the video, Matthews is seen removing the Greek flags outside the restaurant, shouting, “Free Palestine, this is genocide.” The Greek restaurant’s employees looked on in shock, unaware of her motives. Moments later, they confronted Matthews, explaining that the flags were Greek, not Israeli. She responded that she believed the flags were Israeli, claiming the two appeared similar.
The restaurant owner has expressed her frustration over the damage to her property. The perpetrator is set to appear before a judge on Dec. 3.
