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MILTON - Ared car swerved onto a collision path with a boy biking near his home. It pulled away atthe last moment.

The 12-year-old saw that same car one day earlier, according to the October 2019police report. The driver, amale with a scruffy beard, maybe in his early20s, had flipped him the finger as he passed.

Two years earlier, his family's movie nightwas interrupted by popping sounds.

By the time they realized what was happening, more than 100 paint balls had been fired at the Doners' home.They'd hung a Black Lives Matter flag by the front door months earlier. The paint balls were blue.

Those are several of the actions targeting the Doner family thatare documented in police reports obtained by the Free Press. They serve asugly reminders that despite its crunchy, progressivereputation intolerance of one type or another also exists in Vermont. That intolerance runs the gamut fromabusive social media posts toacts meant to intimidate and frighten, carried out the dark of night.

The Doner family has experienced both.

Quinn Ember Doneridentifies as a non-binary trans woman, who usesthe pronouns they/them.Doner supports theBlack Lives Matter movement, LGBTQ rights, and other progressive causes.

Someone took a photo of Doner at a 2018 gun-control rally in Montpelier. It showed up on the Vermont Parents for Gun Rights Facebook page, showing Doner smiling andholding an anti-gun poster that read "F*ck this Sh*t" withthe letter "u" replaced by a drawing of a flower and the "i" with a drawing of an assault rifle. The photo post onthe pro-gun groups page hasmore than 40 comments.

Some raise serious arguments about gun ownership rights. Many more containfairly benign, teasing or just crudeinsults. But a handful of comments are much more disturbing.

"Smash on site," saidone Facebook commenter of the photo of Doner.

"Waste of good air," another stated.

One person went as far as to comment about where Doner lived, including thestreet, a detailed description of the two flags that hung out front, and even that the family bought the residencethroughHabitat for Humanity, an affordable housing program.

"That was a little unnerving," Doner said. The family decided to call police,afraid of what might come next.

Milton policetried to talk to the commenter, but wereunsuccessful in making contact, they said. Though a concern to authorities, the act by itself didnt break any laws.

Doner has been the target of abusive comments on other various Facebook posts as well. They've been called a "freak," a "thing," and "mentally ill."

According to Facebook'sown community standards, many of the comments about Doner on the Vermont Parents for Gun Rights Facebook pageseem to violate one or more rules.All told, the section contains a nearly 28,000-word outlineof what isn't permitted.But, as most Facebook users know, posts on the social platform are riddled with insults and personal attacks that endure.

The Free Press contacted one of the administrators of the Vermont Parents for Gun Rights Facebook page who identified herself asLiz Mason.

"We don't condone such comments," she said via messenger of the comments made on the Doner photo poston the group's page. "But we also support the bill of rights. Freedom of speech is included in that."

After the photo was posted, Doner messaged the Facebook group and asked that it be removed.

"I'm sorry you don't like your photo being blasted on the internet," was the response from an administrator. The photo remained as of the publication of this story.

Doner is a substitute teacher in Milton and goes by the gender-neutral title of Mx. at school. Theyalso frequentschool board meetings and had strong opinions during the 2016 Black Lives Matter flag raising debate at the high school. All of this had made Donereasy to recognize.

When Doner walks around town, sometimes people passing by in a car will shout obscenities at them. If the insults are bad enough, Doner jokes that they give them the finger in response.

"I got beat up plenty," said Doner of growing up in Enosburg Falls, about a 40 minutes north of Milton in Franklin County. "This hasnever been a kind state if you are different."

A vehicle swerved into the path of Quinn Doner's son while he was biking near his home, described in this complaint to the Milton Police Department obtain through a Freedom of Information Act request. RYAN MERCER/FREE PRESS

Doner, now 51,jokes that back then the bulliesthought they were gay instead oftrans, not that it would have mattered much. As for the shouts from passing cars now, Doner triesto laugh that off,but behind the humor lies a deep-seated fear that, at some point, those insults could turn into acts of violence.

"I will watch my back I suppose," they said.

Most of themore than 10,000 residents intown are happy to leave well enough alone when it comes to each others' personal choices or political views. Incidents like the ones impactingthe Doner familyare rare, according to Milton Police Chief Stephen Laroche. He believes the people behind the incidents at the Doner home are few. But even still, he is deeply troubled by what they've endured.

This isnt what our community is all about. he said, adding that this is the first time in his memory that something like this has gone on in town.

"Most in Milton are good people," Doner said. One grandmother brought thefamily cookies when they put up the Black Lives Matter flag, they said.

Abusiness next door to the Doners home provided their security camera footage to the police after the last flag vandalism in November 2019, but the quality and the angle of the video allowed any would-be suspects to remain uncaught.

WATCH: Security cam shows vandals at Milton home stealing Black Lives Matter flag twice.

Vandals targeted the Doner home in Milton in September and November of 2019, stealing two Black Lives Matter flags from the home (Via Milton Police.)

Ryan Mercer, Free Press Staff Writer

But Chief Laroche is far from giving up.He hopes that someone in Milton knows who is behindthe acts and will do the right thing and come forward with information.

So far, no one has been charged.

Gus and Annmarie Klein of Burlington woke in 2018 to find their flag pole toppled and theirTrump flag leftsmoldering on their front step.Gus Klein later told the Free Press that they were lucky the house didnt catch fire while the coupleslept.

It could have gotten ugly, he said.

The Kleins are arguably as opposite the Doners as you can get politically. The KleinssupportPresident Donald Trump as much as Doner opposes him. Despite this,when it comes to freedom of speech or expression, especially on one's own property, the Kleins say no one shouldexperience what theDoners have.

Another side: Trump supporter wakes up to burnt flag on Vermont porch

Thats their home, their personal lives, their beliefs..its just wrong, Annmarie Klein said in a phone interview with the Free Press about what the Doner family experienced. Its their identity, it's a violation of them personally. I wish I could give them all a hug right now."

Shame of anyone so full of hate, said Gus Klein, a veteran of the Vermont National Guard with two Bronze Stars for service in Iraqand Afghanistan.

Vermont owner of vandalized Trump flag: 'Shame! Shame on you!'

Gus Klein woke up Sunday morning, Nov. 25, 2018, to find his "Trump 2020" flag burned, left on the doorstep of his Burlington home.

Ryan Mercer, Free Press Staff Writer

Doner doesn't approve of what happened to the Kleins. But they are quick to point out that what is happening in Milton is quite different.

For starters, the culprits behind theKleins' burnt Trump flag,two teenage kids, were identified. Burlington police released a statement that the parents of the two teens helped in the investigation.

Doner acknowledgesthat the vandalism ofthe Kleins' flag could have become deadlybut noted that the police investigation revealed there was no intent tophysically harm the Kleins.

"If I get killed it's not going to be an accident," Doner said.

"Social media has complicated things over the years," said Chittenden County State's Attorney Sarah George, who admitted that she's completely abandoned using Facebook personally due to the ugliness of comments made there, although her office holds an account for professional use.

George looked over the comments leveled at Doner's photo on theVermont Parents for Gun Rights Facebook pageand shook her head. But there is little state law can do about it, she said.

Quinn Doner of Milton, a trans woman who uses the pronouns they/them, believes they've been targeted because of their gender identity. RYAN MERCER/FREE PRESS

That's because Vermont's primary tool for his kind of issue is a statute first created in 1967. The first part of13 V.S.A. 1027, known as"Disturbing peace by use of telephone or other electronic communications" starts off with:

"A person who, with intent to terrify, intimidate, threaten, harass, or annoy, makes contact by means of a telephonic or other electronic communication with another and makes any request, suggestion, or proposal that is obscene, lewd, lascivious, or indecent; threatens to inflict injury or physical harm to the person or property of any person; or disturbs, or attempts to disturb, by repeated telephone calls or other electronic communications, whether or not conversation ensues, the peace, quiet, or right of privacy of any person at the place where the communication or communications are received shall be fined not more than $250.00 or be imprisoned not more than three months, or both."

"It requires that it be directed at that person," said Deputy State's Attorney Sally Adams of any threat or comment that could be acted on by law enforcement. And that's where social media by and large gets around the law. Adams recalled a case where a threat was made on a social platform, that it was obvious who was being threatened, but because that threat wasn't explicitly communicated to the subject, it didn't meet the requirements of the law.

"It's unfortunate because it clearly was a horrible threat" she said. "But it wasn't a threat that was communicated to that person, and that's the issue."

Despite being updated in 1999 and again in 2013, George thinks the legislatureneeds modify the law further to addresssocial media, but how is a big question.

Something like H.496 might help, introduced in 2019 afterVermont State RepresentativeKiah Morris of Bennington, who is African American, resigned, citing what she described as targeted harassmentbyMax Misch, a self-described white nationalist. But that bill is a long way off from becoming law.

According to one of its sponsors, Rep. Martin LaLonde, the bill is under major revision. It receivedpushback from racial justice proponents and even Morris herself for not having enough input from the communities it was trying to protect.LaLonde pointed out that trying to create a law that protects a victim from the hate speech or bias while preserving freedom of speechis no easy task.

"That's what we are trying to figure out," he said.

Hate crimes in Vermont:Four case studies on how enforcement is practiced

For now, a legislative solution that would give law enforcement and state prosecutors a better tool seems far off.

As for the vandals, Donerhopes that the police will catch them. When asked whether they would just take the Black Lives Matter flag down, they said it's too late for that now.

"That's exactly what these kinds of peoplewant us to do...to take it down," they said.

"We didn't even meanto have it up forever...then when people lashed out so vehemently, now we can't take it down."

Contact Ryan Mercer at rmercer@freepressmedia.com or at 802-343-4169. Follow him onTwitter @ryanmercer1andfacebook.com/ryan.mercer1.This coverage is only possible with support from our readers.Sign up today for a digital subscription.

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'If I get killed it won't be an accident': Progressive family in VT faces threats, vandalism - Burlington Free Press