The town of Evansville was shocked Monday when a man chalked more than a dozen swastikas on the walkways around town hall and made aggressive accusations against city leaders in protest of Pride flags displayed on city property.
Monday marked the first day of the community’s weeklong Pride celebration.
After drawing the swastikas, Evansville resident Jeremy Brown marched into the regular town council meeting Monday evening and chastised city leadership, threatening to continue drawing swastikas and placing his own swastika flags on city hall property if the Pride flags were not removed.
“I’m going to ask you to remove those flags out front and have the council draft an ordinance immediately stating the only flags to ever be on Evansville government property are flags related to government entities,” according to him. “If the pride flags are not removed by the time my swastika flags that I ordered get here, I will plant them right beside those flags and … continue drawing [swastikas] on the sidewalk.”
Controversies over Pride events are raging in many cities this month, sparking debates over free speech and town and city support for the events.
However, it is uncharted territory for Evansville, which had never displayed Pride flags prior to this month and now finds itself in the difficult position of balancing a divide among residents who are both supportive and opposed to flags, according to Mayor Candance Machado.
Return Aggression
Brown’s actions were met with equally aggressive pushback from others in the Evansville community, where some quickly took aim on social media in a spate of posts that ranged from calls for unity to quasi threats against Brown.
“There are no parallels to draw between the Pride flag, which symbolizes love and inclusion, and a swastika, which signifies pretty all-encompassing hate towards a broad spectrum of demographics,” local resident Amber Bland commented on a post the mayor made about the swastikas. “There is no place for Nazis or Nazi sympathizers, white supremacy, or fascism here, or anywhere. Despicable.”
Brown drew six large swastikas in front of the entrance doors before making his public comments. Following his remarks, he went back out and drew many more, encircling the town hall and adjoining police department with the distinctive symbol.
Machado stated that the decision to install Pride flags was hers alone and did not stem from a city resolution.
The flags themselves are small, measuring 6 inches tall and arranged along the sidewalk. They were donated by a local charity.
Still There
The flags remain in place at town hall.
“I don’t react one way or the other in terms of being the mayor,” she said. “In terms of being Candace the individual that lives in the state of Wyoming, my reaction is I find it alarming and inappropriate and unnecessary for an individual to feel as though they want to spread hate or discontent among their neighbors … and the community at large.”
The incident has put the Evansville Police Department on high alert, with online comments implying that the situation could escalate.
Following personal attacks on Brown’s physique, a series of ominous allusions emerged, including a comment by a resident who wrote, “The only good Nazi is a d##d one! Maybe he’ll learn his lesson! Nazi scum are not welcome in our community!”
Another local expressed concern for the safety of public officials.
“I’m concerned for the mayor’s safety. “This man is dangerous,” a woman named Miranda Haigh commented on Machado’s post.
Other residents commented that it was foolish to be so inflammatory when the community knows who drew the swastikas “and where he lives.”
Is Safety A Concern?
Evansville Police Chief Mike Thompson told Cowboy State Daily the town has never had to address an issue like this before, but the department is on alert and on guard for escalation.
“There’s a public safety component here and that’s something we’re taking note of,” he told me. “We’re watching everything, the whole department is aware of it and we’re staying very vigilant.”
Thompson stated that if the protest extends beyond the use of chalk and becomes vandalism, it may be considered defacement and subject to criminal charges. For the time being, the chalked swastikas are legally protected under the First Amendment.
“If you say no to the First Amendment here, and somewhere down the road someone [makes] a different expression, where’s that threshold for first amendment expression?” Thompson rhetorically asked.
Brown had asked the town about the legality of chalking “peace symbols” on city property before taking action, Thompson said. Evansville officials confirmed that such behavior is protected, though few people have interpreted what he drew as peace symbols.
For the time being, the issue has devolved into a proxy art war in which community members compete with chalk. Beginning Tuesday morning, residents began covering the swastikas with competing signs. By afternoon, all of the swastikas had been covered with other emblems, including peace symbols.
Machado declined to comment directly on what might happen if Brown follows through on his promise to install swastika flags on city property.
“I do not support hate speech, bigotry or discrimination, but as the mayor of the town of Evansville, I support the Constitution,” she told reporters. “I believe in my oath and the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech.
“Do I agree with it? No. I’m attempting to be as neutral as possible in my current role, which is a difficult position to be in.
