A Nazi flag found hanging in a California state building was reportedly removed on Oct. 28 after receiving backlash.
The flag, which was red and featured a swastika in the middle, could be seen through a window in a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) building in downtown Sacramento.
CDCR Press Secretary Dana Simas told the Jewish News of Northern California (J.), “While CDCR has a zero-tolerance policy for the display of objects that are derogatory in nature, in an office that covers gang members and high-risk sex offenders we will come into contact with items that may be considered objectionable. However, we take this issue seriously and have removed the item and are looking into the circumstances for why the flag was displayed in potential view of the public.”
State parole officers told CBS Sacramento that the flag was among items confiscated from offenders “used as a teaching tool” to show officers “the type of hate displays that are circulating in jails.”
Sacramento resident Michael Johnson, who saw the flag as he walked by the building, told KTLA that the “context” behind the flag’s display through the window is not immediately apparent to the average passerby.
“It’s the first thing that a lot of people who may be coming from the airport, who may be traveling to Sacramento and witnessing the city for the first time,” Johnson said. “It’s not necessarily one of the first things I’d want them to see.”
The CDCR said in a statement to the Sacramento Bee, “Our initial review of the facts shows that the employee responsible for hanging this flag is a person of color, and has no ties or affiliation with white supremacy or Nazis. The flag was seized property from a case. This staff member and management in that office office showed an unacceptable lack of judgment that does not reflect the values of CDCR.”
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt tweeted, “It’s shameful that a Nazi flag was found hanging in a corrections department office window in California. Glad officials are investigating. #AntiSemitism & #hate have no business in government institutions.”
It’s shameful that a Nazi flag was found hanging in a corrections department office window in California. Glad officials are investigating. #AntiSemitism & #hate have no business in government institutions. https://t.co/mR5hg7MoVQ
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) October 30, 2019
