The ACLU of Utah says it is extremely troubled by the decision of the Garfield County Attorney’s Office to add a hate crime enhancement against a woman who crumbled up a sign backing police officers and then stomped on it in front of an officer.

According to a probable cause document the woman was “smirking in an intimidating manner” as she “crumbled it in a destructive manner.”

In a statement from the ACLU they shared that “this kind of charging decision sends an extremely chilling message to the community that the government will seek harsher punishments for people charged with crimes who disagree with police actions.”

The charges against the 19-year-old woman started when an officer pulled over a driver for a traffic stop in Panguitch on July 7. According to the report the woman was placed under arrest because she destroyed property that didn’t belong to her, as she stated that the sign belonged to her mother.

In the statement from the ACLU they shared that “bringing a charge against this person that could result in her spending a year in jail makes no sense both in terms of simple fairness and expending the county’s time and money.”