Neighbors outraged over Nazi flag flying outside of Montgomery County home

This story originally appeared on 6abc.

Neighbors in one Montgomery County community are outraged after a resident began displaying a flag with a Nazi symbol outside of his home.

The flag, which has a swastika on it, is flying outside of a home in Lower Frederick Township, Pennsylvania.

The symbol of hate has both shocked and angered other residents.

“Why are you so filled with hate? I don’t understand,” said one neighbor.

Several neighbors we spoke with didn’t want their names or faces shown out of fear of this homeowner.

“I’ve seen many posts he considers himself to be a historian, so he should know historically that that symbol is going to make a lot of people feel very bad, like they’re not safe in the community,” said another resident.

Neighbors say they first noticed the flag along Meng Road about two weeks ago and contacted Lower Frederick Township to see if anything could be done.

The township told Action News it’s free speech and little can be done.

“Flying this flag is showing support for some of the most hateful ideology in the history of mankind,” said Andrew Goretsky, the regional director of The Anti-Defamation League in Philadelphia.

Goretsky says while it may be free speech, he believes it should be denounced.

“Our expectation is that the township and public officials will speak out strongly to condemn this type of behavior,” he said.

Other elected officials who represent the area are speaking out.

“This is an act of hate and a deliberate attack on our Jewish community and our decency,” said Congresswoman Madeleine Dean. “We must call it out. We must push our friends, family, and neighbors to be better — to reject hatred and teach the next generation history and truth.”

State Rep. Donna Scheuren said in a statement, “I think it’s terrible for a Nazi flag to be flying in my district or anywhere for that matter. There is no place in our society for antisemitism. In the last House session alone, I personally sponsored five bills and voted seven times for legislation and resolutions in support of the Jewish community and against hate speech in our schools.”

Neighbors say they are hoping to turn this into a positive. They plan to rally together and make donations to local Jewish organizations.