Article
and Video Courtesy of KGW Channel 8
By Melanie Michael
Published
November 2, 2018
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VIDEO
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NEW PORT RICHEY — People stopped and stared as they
walked past the New Port Richey home.
Drivers slowed
with windows rolled down, mouths agape. Some snapped
photos. Others shook their heads. Each person had
seemingly the same facial expression - a mixture of
disbelief and disgust.
Those who saw it describe the Halloween decorations as
pure hate.
The New Port Richey home, located in a subdivision near
Decubelis and Ridge Road, has a display is causing
controversy and outrage.
In the yard is skeleton after skeleton, saluting Hitler
with concentration camp identification numbers on their
arms and a Star of David on their chests. |
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Then there was the sign that read, "Arbeit Macht Frei," which translated
in German means, "Work sets you free."
It is a slogan known for being on display at the entrance of Auschwitz
and other Nazi concentration camps.
Neighbors call the decorations, displayed by a local realtor at her
home, evil.
Mitchell Katz was stunned when he saw the decorations on the eve of
Halloween. "It sickens me," he told WFLA. His wife, Bonnie, nodded in
agreement. "it sickens me that we can have this, you know, with what
happened in Pittsburgh," said Bonnie.
Mitchell explained how decorations like this are hurtful. "I'm Jewish,
this says she hates Jews and we should die."
Another neighbor had tears in her eyes when she drove past the home. "It
sickens me, it sickens me. I couldn't fall asleep the first night I
found out about it," said Iris Hookway.
So, what does the homeowner, Susan Lamerton, have to say about her
Halloween decorations causing controversy in her New Port Richey
neighborhood?
We had a chance to ask her, and she told us it all began with her HOA.
She claims she's been battling them over landscaping for months.
We asked her - why would put this in front of your home?
"Because they're trying to take my house," she yelled. "Don't you
understand?"
She told us she's received death threats over her display, but refuses
to remove it.
She says she stands firm in her decision to keep them right where they
are.
She also told WFLA that she's Jewish, and this is her right to free
speech, her way of protesting the HOA.
"I have freedom of speech, they have freedom of speech," she said,
glancing across the street as passersby stared in shock. "They need to
leave my property."
In the end, law enforcement says what Lamerton is doing is legal and is
considered protected speech.
As for the homeowner herself, she has this message for people who don't
like the decorations - they can leave, the decorations will stay.
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