While Bernie Sanders was speaking at a campaign rally in Phoenix, Arizona, a protester unfurled a Nazi flag in the upper deck of the Veterans Memorial Coliseum behind the Vermont senator’s back. Footage of the incident spread on social media, where reactions were predictably outraged.
In a video posted to Twitter by Arizona-based photographer Erika Rand, Sanders is making his entrance to the stage while a man in a white T-shirt can be seen descending the stairs from the nosebleed seats to the edge of the upper section of seating. As Sanders greets the cheering crowd, the man, standing behind Sanders, holds the item aloft and the Nazi flag unfurls.
He holds it for about 10 seconds as the crowd begins to notice it and boos break out. Someone grabs the flag from below, the man appears to give a Nazi salute, and is then chased off. Sanders, noticing the commotion in the moment, says, “Whoever it was, I think they’re a little outnumbered tonight,” prompting more cheering.
“It was absolutely wild,” national Sanders campaign surrogate Brianna Westbrook told the Washington Post. “I never thought I would have seen a swastika at a political event. It’s gross.”