See the Home Display That Has Neighbors Riled Up
Neighbors and a senator are asking the resident to remove the "vulgar" display.
— -- Is a swastika-laden yard display at a Sacramento, California, house “vulgar” or is it an expression of free speech?
The display, which first started going up months ago, now features an army-green figure raising its arms, a Palestinian flag, and -- in a recent addition -- American and Israeli flags altered by swastikas, according to ABC News station KXTV. At night, it gets illuminated by Christmas lights.
Police received a complaint about the display this week and visited the home, but no illegal activity was found, police said. Neighbors also have expressed disgust about the display to the media.
The people listed as the owners of the home did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News. It was not clear that the owners also occupied the home. The occupant did not speak to KXTV or other media outlets, and a note on the door asked for privacy, the Associated Press reported.
There has been at least one small demonstration at the site, and now protesters have been joined in their outrage by a state legislator.
“Swastikas displayed on a house in the River Park section of Sacramento tarnish the neighborhood," State Sen. Marty Block, chairman of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus, said in a news conference Thursday, "and disrespect and dishonor the memory of tens of thousands of brave American soldiers ... men and women who died for their country fighting Hitler's henchmen who wore that very same symbol."
Block, D-San Diego, said that while he recognizes the "cherished" freedom of speech, “My colleagues and I call on the owner of that house to voluntarily remove his vulgar display."
Robert Roehrs, a neighbor who lives four houses away, said the neighborhood is otherwise a "very, very, quiet" suburb.
"I certainly don’t approve of [the display] and I don’t know who he is," Roehrs told ABC News, adding that he first thought the display was part of Christmas decorations.
Roehrs, who has lived in his home since 1968, said he doesn't know the identity of the resident, who has moved around some of the items over time.
"I think the guy accomplished what he wanted to accomplish, in my opinion," Roehrs said. "He got a lot of publicity and a lot of notoriety. He hasn’t talked to anyone, apparently. We had a lot of traffic around here. Normally, we don’t get more than two or three cars an hour."