A man wearing full Nazi SS regalia was arrested after allegedly smashing a beer glass into a woman’s face, breaking her nose and leaving her requiring stitches.
Kenneth Leland Morgan, 33, was detained in the early hours of Friday morning following a violent altercation outside Cutters Pub in Athens, Georgia.
In footage shared on social media, Morgan is seen dressed in a black Nazi SS uniform, complete with a military cap and a red armband emblazoned with a swastika.
He was spotted arguing with one woman as he was forced out of the bar by a crowd of what appear to be college students.
Several men surrounded Morgan and pushed him down the pavement, whilst he clutched a beer glass in his hand.
The crowd shouted obscenities at Morgan, who then swung the large glass at the face of a woman, later identified as student Grace Lang.
Student Suffered Broken Nose
According to Miss Lang, who spoke with student newspaper Red & Black, she lunged at Morgan to pull his armband off when he managed to break her nose in the process.
She told the outlet she had been sitting outside the bar with friends, one of whom is Jewish, when they noticed Morgan walk past in full Nazi regalia.
Miss Lang said: “They get into a yelling match, and it is just him and two women smaller than him. I get up and go to get in between them, and use my body as a blockade to keep him from coming in.”
“I reach to rip off the armband, as that is the identifying factor that changed it from a soldier ‘costume’ to an unacceptable display of hate.”
The student described Morgan’s demeanour during the attack as chilling.
“He is grinning ear to ear the entire time, including while assaulting me. He continued to try and pull and hit me but was pulled off by my friends,” she said.
Serious Injuries Sustained
Miss Lang detailed the extent of her injuries following the assault with the beer glass.
“My nose was broken by the pitcher and I had to get four stitches on my bridge when I went to the emergency room, and it’s difficult to breathe through right now,” she told Red & Black.
“I have a large welt on my left cheek, my eye is black and swollen shut and my neck and head have ached since.”
According to Miss Lang, Morgan was arrested as she awaited emergency medical teams to arrive at the scene outside the Athens bar.
She told the outlet that he fled the bar on foot but police officers later caught up with him. He lost his hat during the pursuit.
Criminal Charges Filed
Jail records indicate that Morgan was charged with aggravated assault and simple battery following his arrest.
He is being held on $1,500 (£1,300) bond for the battery charge, whilst the aggravated assault charge had no bond attached.
Morgan remains in custody at Clarke County Jail as he awaits court proceedings on both charges.
The aggravated assault charge is the more serious of the two offences and carries a potential prison sentence if convicted.
Public Outrage
Watchdog organisation Stop Antisemitism shared images of Morgan in his Nazi outfit to their social media platforms, sparking fury amongst users.
The images showed Morgan in the full SS uniform, including the distinctive black outfit, military-style cap and swastika armband that has become synonymous with one of history’s most murderous regimes.
Social media users expressed shock that anyone would wear such offensive regalia in public, particularly given the historical context of Nazi atrocities during the Second World War.
Athens, home to the University of Georgia, has a large student population, and the incident has raised concerns about hate symbols being displayed in the college town.
The Nazi SS, or Schutzstaffel, was a paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler responsible for numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Holocaust, in which six million Jews were systematically murdered.
Wearing Nazi symbols and uniforms in public remains legal in the United States under First Amendment protections for free speech, unlike in Germany and several other European countries where such displays are criminal offences.
However, the assault charge stems from the physical attack on Miss Lang rather than Morgan’s choice of clothing.
The incident has reignited debates about the limits of free expression when it comes to hate symbols and the consequences of provocative displays in public spaces.
No court date has been set for Morgan’s appearance before a judge on the assault and battery charges.
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