Man Shouts ‘Heil Hitler, Heil Trump’ During ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ Performance
REALLY?
The audience member was subsequently removed from the theatre and issued a “stop ticket.”
Cindy Ord/Getty
A man shouted “Heil Hitler, Heil Trump” in a Baltimore theater during a performance of the musical “Fiddler on the Roof,” The Baltimore Sun reports. The man reportedly stood up from his seat and shouted the pro-Hitler remarks while making a Nazi salute during the show’s intermission at the Baltimore Hippodrome. Audience member Rich Scherr told the newspaper that people around him feared a shooting was about to start and started running. “I’ll be honest, I was waiting to hear a gunshot. I thought, ‘Here we go,’” Scherr said. Another audience member, Samit Verma, told the Sun ushers rushed to escort the man out while audience members ran to the hall outside. Authorities were called and reportedly issued the man a “stop ticket,” which is the “least severe” action police can take in response to the complaint. “As reprehensible as those words are, they are considered protected free speech because nobody was directly threatened,” police spokesman Matt Jablow told the newspaper. The musical’s official Twitter account addressed the incident in a Thursday statement that said the man was “intoxicated.” “The performances will go on as scheduled and we look forward to bringing this remarkable production to audiences across the country,” the statement read.