Activist Gene Stilp, right, holds a Trump campaign flag emblazoned with a swastika prior to burning it as part of a protest at the Luzerne County Courthouse on Thursday morning.
Roger DuPuis | Times Leader
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Activist Gene Stilp, right, holds a Trump campaign flag emblazoned with a swastika prior to burning it as part of a protest at the Luzerne County Courthouse on Thursday morning.
Roger DuPuis | Times Leader
WILKES-BARRE — He came, he saw, he burned, but not without opposition.
Activist Gene Stilp came to the Luzerne County Courthouse at 11 a.m. Thursday to burn Nazi, Confederate and Soviet flags sewn together with Trump campaign flags in front of the historic building. It was to protest what he sees as major issues in the Trump administration: “horrendous support for racism, bigotry, hatred, white supremacy, racial intimidation and ethnic intimidation.”
The Soviet flag — although long ago replaced as Russia’s flag — was chosen because of allegations that Russian President Vladimir Putin placed a bounty on American troops, Stilp said, and President Donald Trump has yet to address the issue.
“Northeast Pennsylvania put Trump over the top last time,” Stilp, 70, said. “This morning, Trump said he’d like to delay the election. That’s a true mark of a dictator. So, it’s the appropriate time to come to Northeast Pennsylvania, to the Luzerne County Courthouse, to make a statement about Trump.”
A pro-Trump demonstrator interrupted.
“Why didn’t you stay in Harrisburg,” he asked Stilp, who now lives in the midstate.
“Born and raised here, young man,” Stilp replied before returning to the act of burning the flags at the bottom of a metal garbage can.
“This is the trashcan of history,” Stilp said. “This is where Trump’s going to end up.”
Supporters of the president also turned out to display a Trump banner behind Stilp, with some verbal sparring resulting. One man stepped forward to retrieve the charred remains of a burned Trump flag from the bottom of a trash can “as a piece of history,” until Stilp sat on the lid and challenged him to come for more.
County Sheriff’s deputies quickly broke up the confrontation.
Some of the counter-demonstrators — who declined to give their names — also laughed at Stilp, as the fire appeared to have been only partially successful. Stilp said afterwards that he was asked by officials to keep the flames low.
The demonstration drew about 20 people, including demonstrators on both sides.
Stilp said he planned to head north to the Lackawanna County Courthouse in Scranton at 2 p.m. to burn three more of the flags, although he said he expected to be ticketed there — unlike in Wilkes-Barre, where the event was allowed to proceed.
According to our news partners at Fox 56, the Scranton fire was put out by authorities on scene but Stilp was not cited or arrested.
Stilp also said he reported to deputies one confrontational counter-protester at the Wilkes-Barre event who was not wearing a mask and came within six feet of protesters.
Luzerne County Manager C. David Pedri told the Times Leader later Thursday afternoon that he did not believe anyone would be cited by the sheriff in connection with the Wilkes-Barre encounter.
A Facebook live video from the event can be seen on the Times Leader’s Facebook page.