The Shawnee Mall display was part of an autumn exhibition show by the Community Art Gallery and shows multiple high-profile people in Nazi uniforms including President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg among other TV show hosts and news anchors.

“I just didn’t understand it,” said John Brown. A resident who saw the display at the mall when he was there Saturday. “Free speech, First Amendment, whatever. But this was hate speech. This was racist.”

Brown said he and his daughter saw the display while they were shopping. However, instead of shopping they left.

“I called the mall, left a message,” he said. “We’re not going to be patronizing any businesses at the Shawnee Mall this year.”

“It’s divisive, it’s really anti holidays and I just could not understand why the Nazi symbol is being displayed in the Shawnee Mall,” Brown said.

“I don’t see any issue with it,” said Scott Baird. Part owner of the art gallery that put on the exhibit. “But, you know, art can be a touchy subject.”

KFOR spoke with Baird over the phone Tuesday.

“I believe in freedom of speech as well as freedom of art because art is the first thing that goes down when tyranny takes over,” Baird said.

According to Baird, the mall told them Sunday that they started to hear from people taking issue with the display. They told him to take it down and he said he did.