'You really can't ignore it': Nazi flags spotted outside home in Livingston

A photo taken May 17 of a home in Livingston with Nazi flags hanging outside. At least one family in the area say they want to move because of the flags. A photo taken May 17 of a home in Livingston with Nazi flags hanging outside. At least one family in the area say they want to move because of the flags. Photo: Kenneth Ligon Photo: Kenneth Ligon Image 1 of / 27 Caption Close 'You really can't ignore it': Nazi flags spotted outside home in Livingston 1 / 27 Back to Gallery

Kenneth Ligon doesn't let his children leave the front yard when they play outside.

He and his wife have lived in the same house for about a decade on Liberty Avenue in Livingston. But about one year ago, he spotted Nazi flags hanging outside a home down the street. Since then, Ligon, who works at night and stays home with the kids during the day, no longer lets them ride their bikes down the street.

Ligon said the flags prompted the family to put their house up for sale, and they plan on moving soon.

"We've tried to ignore it, but to be honest you really can't ignore it," he said. "The dude's flags are flying right there off the road. I've talked to a few people about, and they just cant believe it."

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Photos of the home taken last month show two Nazi flags hanging outside the home alongside a Texas flag and a Donald Trump flag.

The homeowner, who did not respond to calls and messages requesting comment, appears to have purchased the home in 2016, according to Polk County Appraisal District records.

Ligon said he doesn't know how long the Nazi flags have been there. Despite his family's concerns, the Livingston Police Department and the Livingston Independent School District say they have not received any formal complaints.

Even so, the flags aren't a criminal violation, and there's nothing Livingston police can do, said Lt. Matt Parrish.

"It's on private property," he said, adding that he's seen the flags during patrols. "I don't know anything legally that we could do to make him take them down."

Both Ligon and Perrish said they have seen one resident in a motorized wheelchair, but they don't know whether anyone else lives in the home. Ligon said he hasn't confronted the homeowner because he doesn't think that will solve anything.

"If they had enough common sense or respect for the community or neighborhood, they wouldn't be doing such a thing," he said.

Ligon isn't the only one whose concerned about the flags. A former resident who occasionally returns to the area contacted Chron.com with concerns about the proximity to the Boys & Girls Club of Polk County, less than a mile east of the home.

"This seems like something you might want to cover as it seems to be a blatant attack on local underprivileged children," said the resident, who asked to remain anonymous for his safety.

Boys & Girls Club officials say the organization also has not received any formal complaints about the flags.

While some children may have to cross the home to get to the building, most kids arrive from from Texas 146 on the opposite side, said Steve Davidson, the president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Deep East Texas.

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"That's probably the reason that most folks haven't seen it," he said, adding that he saw the flags on the home Thursday.

Ligon said his children sometimes have to pass the home to catch their bus to school. He and his wife have a total of five children between them. Four of the youngest children, ages 10 to 16, still live with them, and Ligon accompanies them on their way to the bus.

"I don't want my children around anything like that," he said. "This is the only time I've seen something like this and I've been here for a decade... It's the first time I've seen something like that in my 36 years of living."

Julian Gill is a digital reporter in Houston. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | julian.gill@chron.com | NEWS WHEN YOU NEED IT: Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message | Sign up for breaking news alerts delivered to your email here.