WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. — A West Mifflin man’s controversial choice to hang a Nazi flag from his front porch has upset some of his neighbor’s and led to at least one call to police.
Corey Hawkins lives with his girlfriend on Bluff Street in West Mifflin, right next door to the home in question. He said he isn’t bothered by the flag, which faces his home, but his girlfriend, who has a biracial niece, is upset and contacted police on Tuesday.
“Flag went up two days ago … I believe he’s racist,” said Hawkins, who is black. His girlfriend is white.
“She’s upset. She’s upset. I guess she thought I would be upset, but I don’t feed into stuff like that,” Hawkins said.
Others who live on the street told Channel 11 they want to see the flag taken down.
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At first, the man who hung the flag wasn’t willing to talk to Channel 11 about it, but eventually he invited us onto his property, which is peppered with no trespassing sign, as long as we didn’t bring a camera.
The homeowner would not identify himself but told Channel 11 off camera his neighbors are the problem.
“I am not a racist; I’m trying to annoy them,” he said. “They are a nuisance. They have damaged part of my property and I’ve seen lewd behavior. It’s only racist if you perceive it that way.”
Channel 11 spoke with several neighbors who were clearly divided. Some told us flying the controversial flag is a First Amendment right, while others said it’s a symbol of hate and should come down.
“I think he’s harmless,” Hawkins said. “Most people like that, they need a crew to do anything. They don’t stand alone.”
Cox Media Group