TikToker Arrested After Tearing Down Greek Flags in New Jersey, Mistaking Them for Israeli Flags
The anti-Israel TikToker who went viral for tearing down Greek flags outside a New Jersey restaurant, thinking they were Israeli flags, has been arrested.
23-year-old Amber Matthews was arrested and charged with bias and intimidation after tearing down Greek flags outside Efi’s Gyro, a restaurant in Montclair, New Jersey. The incident, which took place on March 11, was brought to light on October 15 when Matthews posted a video of her actions on social media, where it quickly went viral.
In the video, Matthews mistook the Greek flags on the restaurant’s awning for Israeli flags and tore them down, shouting about an alleged “genocide” taking place. The clip continued by her declaring she “doesn’t stand for Zionism,” and telling staff members she was going to take the flags down. But moments later, the employees came outside to point out that the flags were for Greece, not Israel.
“What? Really? Oh, I thought it was Israel — my bad,” she replied.
Her video received millions of views on TikTok, with Matthews captioning the incident, “The time I mistakenly thought the flag for Greek was for Israel and took the restaurant’s flag down OMG.”
Efi Mihalis, the restaurant owner, reported the incident to law enforcement back in March, explaining that an unidentified woman had torn down the flags as well as decorative lights. Authorities initially identified Matthews as a suspect through security footage, which showed her distributing pro-Palestinian flyers at the restaurant the week before. However, her identity was not confirmed until she posted the viral TikTok video in October, according to the New York Post.
Matthews is scheduled to appear in court in December.
