A Chicago man is denying he is a Nazi and claims he put up swastika flags in his apartment windows to create awareness about his missing fiancée.
According to a report from ABC Chicago, community members of the Edgewater neighborhood are upset and “distressed,” as a result of resident Peter Craig’s display of the Nazi symbols. Craig spoke to reporters about the flags in his windows and alleged he placed them there to bring awareness to his missing fiancée — whose name is purportedly Ariana Daniels. However, reports have not confirmed the identity of his alleged partner and no additional information has been reported on her whereabouts or the timing of her disappearance. During his recent interview, Craig both denied that he “likes Nazis,” and appeared to defend his decision to hang the swastika flag in his windows, citing Americans’ right to have their own “sanctuary,” at home.
“I don’t like Nazis, nobody likes Nazis,” Craig said in part. “Nobody likes what happened in World War II. But everybody in America deserves to have their home as their sanctuary.” Craig continued, claiming he was a “peace-loving,” and “freaky hippy,” and not an extremist. “I’m not a skinhead. I’m a long-haired, peace-loving, freaky hippy.”
People who live near Craig’s apartment, in which the swastika flags can be seen from the street, believe that there is no reason for him to be blatantly displaying the Nazi symbol in the neighborhood. Patricia Guerro, who owns the restaurant Edgewater Tacos, has lived in the neighborhood for decades and believes what Craig is doing is “scaring,” people of the area away.
“To have that swastika flag there makes me sick to my stomach,” Guerrero said before adding “Everyone is welcome and that is scaring people away. I’m Latina. I don’t want that. I don’t want to live in fear because that’s not what Edgewater’s about. I will say something when I see something that is not right. And that is not right. That is not OK. And that is not welcome here in our community.”
Matthew Rais, another concerned member of the neighborhood, who is also Jewish, also condemned Craig’s use of the flags.
“It’s a lost cause what they’re [Nazis] fighting for,” Rais said. “We’re all Americans and we need to come together in unity.”
Craig has reportedly been served an eviction notice, which cites the display of the swastika flags as grounds for his removal. Root Realty, which owns the dwelling where Craig is renting the apartment, released a statement to ABC 7 Chicago detailing their efforts to address the situation.
“Root Realty abhors the hate symbol that a tenant in a building we manage displayed in the tenant’s window,” the statement reads. “We are doing everything possible to get this resolved within the bounds of what we are legally permitted to do.”
The presence of Nazi influence in the city of Chicago reportedly dates back to as early as the 1930s. The German American Bund, which was a pro-Nazi organization, previously held rallies and meetings and even a summer camp for children. In 1939, the Bund organized a large rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City, which attracted over 20,000 attendees. During World War II, the U.S. government cracked down on pro-Nazi organizations, and the German American Bund was disbanded. However, in recent years there have been reports of neo-Nazi groups organizing and operating within the city.
Watch ABC 7 Chicago’s full report below.