Walnut Creek meeting hijacked by man in swastika shirt on antisemitic tirade
WALNUT CREEEK, Calif. - A Walnut Creek City Council meeting was hijacked on Tuesday night when a man wearing a shirt with a swastika and "White Power" written across it took the microphone and launched into an antisemitic tirade.
The goateed man wearing sunglasses identified himself as Scotty and announced his disappointment at the city's October decision to shut down public Zoom comments, a move that followed months of antisemitic harassment, much of it directed at council member Kevin Wilk, who was the city's first Jewish mayor and city councilmember.
He pointed toward Wilk, referring to "people like you," and referred to Jews as "supremacists" and the k- word, which is an anti-Jewish slur.
He then invoked the possibility of another Holocaust, before uttering "heil Hitler," giving a Nazi salute and uttering the words "white f---ing power." As he walked out of the chambers, he said, "I’m surprised you didn’t cut me off," and, "See you next time, Wilk."
The council was shocked into silence for nearly 15 seconds. None of the council members spoke until Wilk spoke up.
Anti-Israel, pro-Hamas graffiti found at Lake Merritt in Oakland prompts hate crime investigation
Oakland police were investigating graffiti sprawled in an area at Lake Merritt as a hate crime.
"We live in a free country, and there is free speech, and that means we have to listen to awful and heinous comments like we listened to," Wilk said. "And I would like to apologize on behalf of the city council and anybody who had to hear that horrible, horrible speech."
In an interview on Wednesday, Wilk told KTVU that Scotty is not the man's real name, he lives in Modesto and the FBI is "aware of him."
Wilk added that it's important to know what Scotty said because to ignore it means that people aren't aware of how much current hate there is for Jews.
That's what happened during the Holocaust, Wilk pointed out, where many people weren't aware of exactly what was going on at the time and did nothing to help or stop it.
"Jewish organizations across the country are determined we're going to address this," Wilk said Wednesday. "We're not going to hide away. We were going to address this and it's not going to make us quiet."
Mayor Pro Tem Cindy Darling added that the man's comments do not represent the city as a whole or what they stand for.