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Indianapolis man hangs Nazi flag in front yard: 'I'm a collector'

Posted at 9:37 AM, Mar 13, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-13 10:54:32-04

INDIANAPOLIS -- If you drove on the well-traveled Emerson Avenue Sunday, you might have noticed something hanging from a front porch that offended many neighbors in the area: A Nazi flag.

"We open up the window and this is what we see," Tabatha Young, a neighbor, said. "I'm not happy about it at all."

Many people in Irvington were outraged over the display of the symbol of Nazi Germany. The man who lives at the house wouldn't give his name, but gave his thoughts on why he hung it.

"People need to quit turning everything into race," the man said. "It's not about race issues, you know. Like I said, people need to study their history."

He said the Nazi flag he has is not a symbol of hate, but a piece of history. He claims it was brought back from World War II by an American soldier, and he's proud to own the collector's item.

That answer doesn't satisfy Young. 

"If it is [a collector's item] then that is something that should be hanging inside his home and not outside because by it hanging outside of his home it's sending a really bad message," she said. 

Neighbors have notified police, but the flag isn't against the law. 

Despite the display, the man insists he isn't a racist. 

"It's a trophy and I'm a collector and there are thousands of other people that collect them," he said.