Jewish groups, Raleigh mayor condemn Nazi flag in Wake County

A Nazi flag was blackened, removed and replaced with an American flag on top of a Confederate flag Thursday near Wakefield High School.

The Nazi flag, red with a black swastika in a white circle, was pinned under a Biden-Harris sign on a tree near Old Falls of Neuse Road and Wakefield Pines Drive in Wakefield, close to Wake Forest. It was high enough on the tree that it could only be reached with a ladder.

Neighbors on Nextdoor, a social networking hub, called the flag “evil” and a “terrorist symbol.” Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin issued a statement Thursday condemning it.

Renters said the property has had Confederate flags on it since they moved in, but this was the first time they had seen a Nazi flag. One who did not want to be associated with the flag put a poster on the house saying “Not my sign” and a poster on the tree that said “This is not my sign! I’m a renter.”

The Nazi flag was blackened over Thursday morning.

By Thursday afternoon, it had been removed and a Confederate flag with the American flag pinned on top was in its place. It was not clear whether the Confederate flag had been beneath the Nazi flag from the start.

The Wake County Sheriff’s Office responded to complaints about the Nazi flag Wednesday night and determined the flag, “while disturbing,” was on private property and protected by the First Amendment, Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Eric Curry said Thursday.

The News & Observer was unable to reach the property owner listed in Wake County land records.

Raleigh mayor, Jewish community respond

Jewish community leaders condemned the Nazi and Confederate flags in a statement released by the Jewish Federation of Raleigh-Cary and the Raleigh-Cary Jewish Community Relations Council.

“The swastika is a universal symbol of hate representing fear and intimidation against the ‘Other,’ including Jews, Muslims, people of color, and members of the LGBT community,” the statement said. “In fact, the Nazi symbol is an attack against every American. Such a gratuitous and offensive display of the Nazi flag has no place in Wake County or anywhere else.

“We recognize the Constitution guarantees the right to freedom of speech, including bigoted, racist and anti-semitic expressions like these,” it continued. “However, we stand united in condemning this repugnant and highly inappropriate display.

The statement asked the homeowners to recognize “the deep pain caused by the display of the Nazi flag” and called on Wake County residents to stand against it and other symbols of hate, which it said includes the Confederate flag.

Baldwin condemned the display in a Facebook post:

“I was deeply saddened to hear that a Nazi symbol was displayed in our region,” the Raleigh mayor wrote. “Free speech is one of the hallmarks of our democracy. But speaking and communicating with respect and open hearts makes our City and our nation stronger. We are better than hateful speech like this and I am relieved to see that the flag was removed.”

Just across the street, Wakefield High School has also seen racist symbolism. Swastikas were painted on campus in 2016 and vandals hung a teddy bear from a noose in 2017, The N&O reported.

During a Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, during which one counter-protester died, white supremacists carried Nazi and Confederate flags. In Germany, however, it is illegal to display Nazi imagery, like the swastika.

This story was originally published January 21, 2021 at 6:13 PM.