Protesters
waved Nazi flags
outside of a community theater production of “The Diary of Anne Frank,” leaving performers “understandably shaken” by the hateful display in Michigan, officials said Monday.
The shocking protest by a handful of masked men unfolded Saturday night outside of American Legion Post 141 in Howell, where
the play by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett
was being staged.
Even though American Legion staff had the swastika-waving protesters “under control” and “moved off the property,” show producers decided to inform everyone in the house at intermission of what was happening outside.
“For this production, our cast was also on stage in character during intermission, which was when they found out as well,” according to a statement by the
Fowlerville Community Theater
.
“Although some were understandably shaken, they pulled together and finished the performance with strength and professionalism.”
Livingston County Sheriff’s deputies were called about a “disturbance” at 7:43 p.m. on Saturday, officials said.
The five masked demonstrators “were asked to leave the property and did,” according to statement by Sheriff Michael Murphy.
The agitators “went across the street and waved flags adorned with” swastikas before a “subject then approached them, and an argument ensued,” the sheriff added.
“Nothing physical transpired and ultimately the parties involved separated,” Murphy added.
Michigan has been a hot spot of U.S. politics, as one of the swing states that shifted right and delivered
a narrow victory
for President-elect Donald Trump.
“We are disgusted by the far-right extremists who praised Hitler and waved Nazi flags outside of an American Legion hosting the play ‘
The Diary
of
Anne Frank
,’ and we stand with American Legion 141 and” Howell Township for showing “who know that hate doesn’t belong in their community,” according to a statement by the
Michigan Anti-Defamation League
.
The Fowlerville Community Theater drew direct parallels between the play — adapted from the famed diary of Anne Frank, a Jewish girl killed by Nazis in the Holocaust — and the events of Saturday night.
“This production centers on real people who lost their lives in the Holocaust, and we have endeavored to tell their story with as much realism as possible,” the theater said in its statement. “On Saturday evening, things become more real than we expected.”
“The presence of protesters outside gave us a small glimpse of the fear and uncertainty felt by those in hiding,” the statement said.
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