A front-yard Ohio manger scene that depicts blood dripping from baby Jesus’ sharpened teeth commanded national news coverage this week, but the Cincinnati-area zoning official who denied the display a permit says qualms about its blasphemous content played no role in his decision.

“Everyone thinks it’s a religion thing. It has nothing to do with religion,” says Sycamore Township Zoning Administrator Harry Holbert, who says he has been flooded with emails after his office issued a court summons to manger creator John “Jasen” Dixon, who ignored the permit rejection.

Holbert says he denied Dixon’s permit request last week because the township doesn’t allow anyone to build a structure taller than 5 feet in their front yard, and allowing a 9-foot roofed manger would open the door to a neighbor building a shed.

“It’s an accessory structure built in a front yard. That’s it,” he says.



The zoning official says his office does not regulate outdoor display of life-sized dolls and that he believes Dixon intentionally broke the town's rules to get media attention.

Dixon was cited for just one day of violating township rules, Holbert says, for which Dixon told local media he faced $500 a day in fines. Holbert says actual penalties are now at the discretion of a judge and could be smaller.

Dixon could not be reached for comment on the issue or for confirmation on whether the structure has been modified, and the manager of an active Indiegogo fundraising page set up on his behalf – which has raised about $2,500 as of Wednesday – did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Initially, Dixon cast the dispute as a free speech battle and gave no hint of backing down in local media interviews. Attention swelled and he attracted widespread aggregated news coverage and blurbs by The New York Times and CNN.



Holbert says local rules have spawned some public confusion, as a certificate from the local building department isn’t required for structures under 200 square feet, though they still require a zoning permit.