Swastika display at Sacramento home angers neighbors Homeowner refuses to take display down

Video: Swastika display at Sacramento home angers neighbors

One is made to look like an American flag, but instead of stars, it shows a swastika.

"This is ridiculous," said Rick Reader, who lives nearby. "Seeing this is ridiculous. That's crazy."

Neighbors told KCRA 3 on Tuesday they have asked the man behind the display to take it down, but he refuses.

"So, I went over one day and just said, '(The swastikas) kind of cross the line for this neighborhood,'" said one neighbor, who didn't want to provide his name. "He called it his art and got very defensive about it."

Others in the area said the display is not art.

"How do I explain this to my little one?" asked Robbie Rose, who lives nearby. "I am all for freedom of speech, but this is just too much. I really do want to get out of my car and rip that down. But the only reason I don't (is) because I do believe in being a good American, and I do believe in freedom of speech."

The house, on Moddison Avenue in Sacramento, also has a statue made out of two-by-fours, and a Palestinian flag displayed.

KCRA 3 tried to ask the man behind the displays what they meant, but he refused to explain.

The president of the Jewish Federation of Sacramento said it's offensive.

"There is no more potent (of) a symbol of hatred than the swastika," said Barry Broad, who was appalled at the display. "It is a symbol of murder and genocide and tremendous sacrifice to eradicate Nazism from this planet."

People who live nearby called police Monday. The police department said officers were sent to the house, but there is nothing they can do.