Police are hunting those who tore down a US flag, flying in a public park in Laramie, southwestern Wyoming, and replaced it with the flag of Nazi Germany. The authorities say they aren’t used to hate crimes like this.
The flag used by the Third Reich was discovered flying in Washington Park on Monday. The US flag, originally hoisted atop of the flagpole, was found nearby, shoved into a corner of a band shell.
The Swastika banner was removed by police and taken in as evidence, local media reports.
No signs of vandalism were found at the scene, and no charges have yet been filed. The Laramie Police Department, nevertheless, is looking for the culprits and asking the residents for assistance. Locals are asked to inform the police of any suspicious activity relating to the flag incident.
Hate crimes are “pretty unique” in the area, and the officers are determined to investigate the case “pretty hard,” Lieutenant Gwen Smith told Laramie Boomerang.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) denounced the incident, with regional director Jeremy Shaver calling it “appalling and outrageous.”
Laramie, the town of about 32,000 people, saw a similar case in February, when white supremacist and neo-Nazi fliers and posters were discovered at the local campus of the University of Wyoming.
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