Swastika flag hanging in state department building sparks condemnation

The flag was unmistakable – even through a partially closed window, even from across the street.

A black swastika was set against a white background and framed by red.

Displayed anywhere, the image is jarring. But the flag was glaring through half-closed blinds at a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation building near downtown Sacramento, prompting outrage at the open exhibition of one of the world’s most famous hate symbols on public, government-owned property.

“That’s cute, that’s real cute, City of Sacramento, letting people like that work in your state buildings,” said one passerby, adding an expletive, in a video of the office window he uploaded to Imgur.

The caption reads: ”This is a trashy way to represent this beautiful city, especially in a state building.”

The flag hung above a pair of SS bolts, a white supremacist symbol inspired by Nazi Germany’s police force, and other symbols of hate, said Michael Johnson, the man who local media said made the video, which has been viewed tens of thousands of times.

“You didn’t have to be close to the building at all,” Mr Johnson told TV outlet KTLA. “People driving by could see it.”

Mr Johnson said he took the video on Friday night. By Monday morning, the display was removed and the corrections department had launched an internal investigation.

The agency said the building, a parole office that deals with high-risk sex offenders and gang members, may by its very nature house offensive and obscene items, but officials said that is no excuse for the display and they are still trying to figure out why some of those accoutrements were placed prominently in a street-facing window.

“The flag has been removed, and we apologise for this profoundly incendiary act,” said Dana Simas, the department press secretary. “The display of an image representing violence and bigotry is a gross violation of department policy ... Those found in violation of the department’s policies will be held accountable.”

She said the room, reported elsewhere as someone’s personal office, is actually an agent training space.

The instruction sometimes covers how to identify certain types of paraphernalia – including hate symbols – but the agency is still investigating whether the Nazi flag and other items were included in such a training session, Ms Simas said.

If that was the case, it wasn’t clear to the pedestrians or drivers who travelled through the busy intersection in front of the building and passed the window.

“That type of, you know, context was not included whatsoever,” Mr Johnson told KTLA.

Ms Simas said it is unclear why and for how long the flag hung next to the window at this point. She said the department has never had a problem like this but she understands why people are upset.

She said he agency has “a zero tolerance policy for the display of objects that are derogatory in nature”.

The Washington Post