An American flag that flew over a Laramie, Wyoming park was replaced with a Nazi flag with the swastika symbol.
Laramie Police Department Lieutenant Gwen Smith said that the flag was promptly removed when police discovered it, CNN reported.
“It is appalling and outrageous that anyone would cast aside the American flag in a public park and replace it with an ugly symbol of the Nazi regime,” said Jeremy Shaver, a senior associate director with the Anti-Defamation League in a statement.
He urged more to speak up against “hateful incidents” in their communities.
Laramie Mayor Andrea Summerville also rejected the act.
“The City of Laramie will remain watchful for and vigilant against any other use of hateful Nazi symbols or propaganda,” said she said in a statement. “Our community has been touched by hate before and we will not stand for it again.”
The reference harkens back to the brutal beating and murder of Matthew Shepard in 1998.
Police have said that they have no leads and no witnesses to the act.
Reports of racist and anti-Semitic incidents are on the rise. White pride rallies have been held across the country, but the most notable was Charlottesville, Virginia where a counter-protester was killed.
