(Photo by Dennis Dimick)

(Photo by Dennis Dimick)

Hours before thousands of people took to Pennsylvania Avenue to denounce white supremacy and the terror in Charlottesville, a man with a swastika tattoo was removed from a D.C. pool in a tense incident.

The man was asked to leave Rumsey Pool on Sunday afternoon, according to several accounts on social media.

“While at no point was the safety of our guests at risk, the incident did involve an individual being asked to leave the facility due to offensive language and inappropriate behavior,” said Department of Parks and Recreation Director Keith Anderson in a statement.

A man with “visible drawings on his body of swastikas, upside down crosses, and ‘666’” showed up at the indoor pool around 2:45 p.m. and began charging his devices, according to DPR’s account. Several guests spoke to lifeguards, allegedly expressing concern that he was on the deck but not using the pool.

When a lifeguard spoke to the man, he reacted aggressively and offensively, Anderson said. A second lifeguard stepped in, at some point inadvertently breaking a glass window, and someone called the police.

The man was escorted off the premises by D.C. Protective Services, the security arm of the Department of General Services. The pool was closed for about half an hour, while staff removed the shattered glass.

Anderson took pains to note that DPR does not remove guests based on appearance. “We want to reassure our guests that while the agency does not deny access to programs or facilities based on personal appearance, we do require that all guests and employees treat one another with respect,” he said.

Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen said in a statement that he had spoken with DPR and the Metropolitan Police Department.

“The symbols and language of hate have no place in our community. When the president of the United States lacks the courage to openly denounce hatred, it falls to each of us to do so,” Allen said in a statement. “I call on all of us to speak up and reject symbols of hatred and bigotry wherever and whenever they appear. We cannot allow these symbols, these words, and these acts to become normalized.”

The Metropolitan Police Department has not yet returned requests for comment. A spokesperson for the mayor’s office said early this afternoon a statement is forthcoming.


This post has been updated with an account from DPR.

Filed Under: department of parks and recreation, dpr, pool, racism,