Ohio man busted on federal weapons charge after carrying anti-Semitic sign at lockdown protest

An Ohio man was indicted on federal weapons charges two months after he carried an anti-Semitic sign to a lockdown protest.

Matthew Paul Slatzer, of Canton, was charged with possession a .38-caliber Taurus revolver on Feb. 2, when he brought it into Fast Times Pub in Canton and threatened to kill police officers after they responded to a complaint, reported Cleveland.com.

The 36-year-old Slatzer carried a sign comparing Jewish people to rats and calling them "The Real Plague" at an April protest at the Ohio Statehouse against Gov. Mike DeWine's social distancing orders.

Slatzer was charged in Stark County Common Pleas Court with possessing a weapon in a liquor establishment, a fifth-degree felony, and a separate federal charge with illegal possession of a weapon because of his prior conviction for domestic violence in 2010.

“[Slatzer] is someone who has promulgated hatred for years," said James Pasch, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League. "We’re thankful to the FBI and law enforcement for removing him from our streets.”