Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Hate Speech And Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Wyoming council agrees to draft proclamation and action items after residents decry Nazi flag display nearby
Summary
Following public comments calling for a stronger municipal response to a recent racist display in a neighboring community, the Wyoming City Council voted to develop a proclamation and additional action steps condemning the incident and supporting affected communities.
The Wyoming City Council voted to draft a formal proclamation and develop action items condemning a recent public display of Nazi imagery in a neighboring community after several residents urged immediate, public condemnation.
Resident Werner Lang told council the demonstration — which he described as armed participants displaying Nazi flags and an SS skull — was “a moral outrage and a disgrace” and asked the council to make its position known publicly.
Lang said the display occurred “a few hundred yards from where we are now” and urged the council to pass a resolution “very, very soon, if not tonight,” adding that “there can be no neutrality when it comes to genocide and fascism.”
Resident Martin Skidmore thanked Lang and asked whether the city was coordinating with local law enforcement and school officials “to determine what we would do, how we would respond should they march on our streets,” and requested information about any plan or shared intelligence.
Councilmembers discussed both a proclamation and additional steps the city could take. Councilmember April moved to create a proclamation statement and/or action items in response to the hateful display; the motion was seconded and carried. The council directed staff to prepare a proclamation for the next meeting and to pursue other, unspecified action steps in the coming month.
Several councilmembers and speakers referenced a Hamilton County sheriff’s press conference that requested clarification from the county prosecutor on Ohio law to help law enforcement pursue intimidation or other criminal conduct connected to masked participants; one councilmember said that press conference increased confidence in county-level coordination.
The council did not adopt a proclamation at the meeting; it voted to develop and return with a formal document and related actions at the next council meeting. No timeline for additional specific actions beyond drafting the proclamation was adopted at the meeting.
The discussion came during the meeting—s public comments and new-business portions; residents asked for both a public statement and a plan for interagency coordination if similar demonstrations recur.
