YIKES

California Prison Officials: Employee Who Hung Nazi Flag Is Not a White Supremacist

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said the employee who hung the flag up was not a white supremacist.

After a man saw a Nazi flag hanging in a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation office earlier this week, the department said the employee who put it up showed lack of judgement but was not a white supremacist. According to The Sacramento Bee, CDCR said the person responsible for hanging up the flag was a person of color who had “no ties or affiliation with white supremacy or Nazis.” The department told the newspaper the flag was seized property from a previous case, and told CBS13 it was part of a presentation on hate that was going to be used as a teaching tool. Regardless, the department said they would investigate the matter and could discipline the employee along with any others involved.

A pedestrian saw and took video of the Nazi flag hanging on the office wall through a window. He told CBS13 he thought it was a bad Halloween display, but then saw other hate symbols and gang paraphernalia around the flag. Agents reportedly told the news station that all of the items hung on the wall were confiscated from prisoners or those on parole, and were displayed to staff as a means of showing hate displays seen in prison.