Arkansas man paints racial slurs, slogans on his home
VIDEO - Words of "HEIL HITLER," "WHITE POWER," and a swastika are drawn across his property, clearly visible to those passing by...
Several residents in an Arkansas community are upset over certain words written on the outside of a home. Families in Hope, Arkansas say the language is especially offensive to African Americans.
Eddy Hill turned on his digital camera in his yard, crouched down, and snapped a photo of his home.
“Today, I declared March 1 as White History Month,” Hill said.
Words of “HEIL HITLER,” “WHITE POWER,” and a swastika are drawn across his property, clearly visible to those passing by.
“I wanted people to see it,” Hill said.
Surrounding residents in the predominantly African American neighborhood want those messages gone. “It’s very racist and it’s a threat to our community,” said resident Ray Thomas.
“If you don’t want problems, then you need to get out of the ‘hood,” resident Peair Jones said.
Some say Hill has taunted residents. Hill denies that, but admits to occasionally taking pictures of people walking by.
The presence has been a concern to Lamonica Jackson, not only for herself, but also her son. “My main concern is my child. He rides his bike around here all the time,” Jackson said.
Despite the response from the neighborhood, Hill says he has no plans to leave.
While Hope Police would not go on camera, they did release this statement:
“The Hope Police Department is very concerned about many of the statements made by Mr. Eddy Hill. We are also very concerned with the disruption he is causing in his neighborhood. We want the community to be aware that we take every allegation seriously and have been in contact with other outside agencies to include ATF, FBI, Secret Service, and the US Postal Inspectors office about this situation. At this time, Mr. Hill has not committed any crime that we are aware of. As always, the Hope Police Department encourages our citizens to promptly report any crimes that they have knowledge of.”
