Bay Area - Authorities are investigating after a Livermore man posting swastika stickers in downtown Fairfax was confronted by bystanders.
The incident was recorded by Fairfax resident Noah Mohan on Monday and posted to social media. In the video, the man was approached and followed for about 10 minutes by Mohan, who questioned why he was posting the stickers before removing them and telling the man to get out of town.
This happened today in my town of Fairfax, CA. It was documented by a local who gave me permission to post this. I admire his restraint and also everything he said to hold this person to account. Thread /1 #nazi #holocaustdenial #altright pic.twitter.com/he3Pn6KFvV
— Andrew Keay (@KeaySeaver) November 25, 2020
“I’m just walking down the street and this kid is putting up Nazi stickers saying we are everywhere … c’mon man,” Mohan said. “The kid was not being aggressive, but the ideology he posted basically says ‘kill me and my family’ and that ain’t going to slide.”
During the video, the man said he denied the Holocaust occurred and said he believes in Nazi ideology. Mohan said he and another bystander stayed until he flagged down a police officer.
Fairfax police Chief Christopher Morin said officers detained the man, who was later released. He said the man was in possession of a knife, which is not illegal.
“It was a standard pocket knife that anyone can possess,” Morin said. “The reason we took that information in is because residents on (the social media website) Nextdoor are alleging a weapon was involved and that the suspect brandished a knife. So we needed to quell that rumor.”
Morin said he does not know how many stickers were posted.
“We don’t know if his intent was to splatter the whole town with it,” he said. “We know of three or four and they’ve been removed. If there are more we not aware of those.”
The man was not arrested and his identify was not released. Police plan to refer the case to the district attorney’s office for review, Morin said.
“Officers have completed their follow-up investigation and will be sending the reports to the district attorney’s office for review of charges against this person for the posting of these inflammatory hate related stickers,” Morin said.
Councilwoman Stephanie Hellman said she was aware of the incident and said she hoped the district attorney would investigate.
“This young man’s attempt to instill fear in our community failed and will continue to fail because our community believes in humanity and the truth,” she said. “The truth is the swastika is a symbol of fear and hate against Jews and we need to do a better job of educating and awareness of this horrific episode in world history.”