The Baltimore Sun reports that the man who shouted “Heil Hitler, Heil Trump!” during the intermission of a performance of Fiddler on the Roof at the Hippodrome Theatre has apologized and has said that he was criticizing Trump rather than praising him.
Anthony M. Derlunas II, 58, said the play, which tells the story of a Jewish family facing persecution in tsarist Russia, reminded him of Trump’s immigration policies. His comparison “came out wrong” and was “beyond a mistake” he said during an interview at his home in Joppa.
“Instantly it was like, ‘Oh my God, what did you do?’ ” said Derlunas, who acknowledged he had been drinking heavily before the show. “The thing that I can’t stand is Trump spreading hatred, and what did I do? I spread hatred.”
The Sun also reports that the police issued him a “stop ticket,” which is less serious than a citation. A police spokesman said that the First Amendment protected the shouter.
According to The Sun, the Anti-Defamation League had urged law-enforcement authorities to press charges.
Baltimore television station WJZ, a CBS affiliate, has also covered the further development in this story, as has the Washington Post. WJZ interviewed the shouter, whose back is to the camera. A portion of the interview is embedded in the WJZ story.
“I’m torn apart, I can’t eat, I can’t sleep, I said I’m sorry,” Derlunas said.
He also said he’d been drinking that night.
“I ruined people’s night, I upset people. I didn’t mean to do any of that. It was a terrible, terrible mistake. I’m very sorry for it,” Derlunas said.
Sunday, Nov 18, 2018 · 12:41:58 AM +00:00
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Rashaverak
Update: a related Baltimore Sun Editorial is well worth a read:
Under Maryland law, you can be charged with disorderly conduct for “willfully [acting] in a disorderly manner that disturbs the public peace.” Baltimore police are well aware of the statute — a misdemeanor that carries a maximum of a $500 fine and 60 days in jail. The Department of Justice found in its investigation of city police that they routinely used it as a catch-all offense to facilitate the mass arrests of minorities in poor neighborhoods as part of the destructive zero-tolerance policing Baltimore practiced for years in the 2000s. During the four-year period the DOJ studied, Baltimore police made 6,500 arrests for disorderly conduct, heavily concentrated in poor, black neighborhoods and frequently without probable cause.
Contrast that with what happened during a performance of “Fiddler on the Roof” at the Hippodrome Theatre when a drunk, white man stood at the beginning of intermission and yelled “Heil Hitler, Heil Trump,” leading to panic in the audience. Just weeks after an anti-Semite killed 11 people at a synagogue in Pittsburgh, some theatergoers said they were terrified that they were about to become the next victims of a hate-fueled mass shooting.
[….]
Baltimore police have used their discretion over the years to arrest thousands of people, predominantly young, black men, for crimes like disorderly conduct, because they thought the alleged perpetrators might pose some greater threat. But when a middle-aged white man terrorizes a theater full of people, he is let go with no consequences whatsoever. Of course, arrests in Baltimore are a fraction of what they were in the zero tolerance days. Does this reflect some new enlightenment at BPD about nuisance crimes? Or does it demonstrate that even under a federal consent decree, unequal justice is alive and well in Baltimore?
[….]