A school board meeting in Worthington, Ohio, was ended early this Monday after some of the attendees refused to wear masks, local news outlet WBNS reports. According to a witness speaking to WBNS, a woman and man at the meeting flashed Nazi salutes.
"It's not how you act in a community. It's all about kindness and respect and that was nothing even close," said Marcia Edwards, a parent who was at the meeting. "They made the Nazi salute. It's horrible. There's no reason for anyone to make that gesture, I mean, to me it just spells hate."
The school board meeting ended up being cut short.
"It was a hostile environment and the visitors that were there felt their safety was at risk," Worthington School Board member Sam Shim told The Columbus Dispatch. "We couldn't have a full board meeting when the board didn't feel safe and the visitors who wanted to do public comments didn't feel safe when people are doing a Nazi salute."
Edwards, who captured the incident on video, said she knew things were boiling over at the meeting, so she began recording.
In a newsletter to parents, the school board slammed those who made the gesture and said it would not be tolerated.
"...there is no compromise on our expectations that as a community, we will be civil, respectful and not hateful in our behaviors toward one another," the newsletter read.
"What we witnessed at the 9/13 Board Meeting was unacceptable and not representative of our inclusive community that is Worthington," the newsletter continued. "Any Nazi symbolism belittles the horror and the atrocities faced by the Jewish community during the Holocaust. It also minimizes the 6 million Jewish lives murdered as well as the 5 million others who were killed by the Nazis. Any Nazi symbolism has no place in our community, in our schools, or in our school board meetings."
Watch WBNS's report on the story below: