Connecticut man ordered to remove Confederate flag due to ‘campaign of racially based animus’

A Connecticut man was ordered to take down his Confederate flag after allegedly harassing his African American neighbors through a “campaign of racially based animus.”

Anthony Esposito, 49, allegedly draped himself in a Confederate flag and ran up and down his driveway as his neighbors’ 12-year-old daughter was outside waiting for the school bus, prosecutors say, according to the Hartford Courant.

{mosads}Esposito has also reportedly displayed the flag several times when the girl was by herself or with her friend outside the house.

“I am scared because I am black,” the girl told police, the Courant reports.

Esposito faces charges of disorderly conduct and breach of peace in the incidents. He does not face a hate crime charge.

New Britain State’s Attorney Brian Preleski said in a motion to Superior Court Judge Maureen Keegan that Esposito is a “self-avowed racist, sex offender, convicted felon and claims to have ties to the Ku Klux Klan” and should face restrictions over the incidents and his “documented history or not obeying court orders.”

Keegan ordered Esposito not to have contact with the family, adding that he must stay inside when the girl gets on and off the school bus every day. He also can’t fly a Confederate flag within 250 yards of his neighbors’ property, the Courant reports.