Upset by Confederate and Nazi Items for Sale at Flea Market, Shopper Gets Police Involved

The Redwood Country Flea Market is a popular destination for shoppers in Wallingford, Connecticut, but the scene there last weekend attracted the kind of attention that merchants rarely enjoy.

Image source: WTNH-TV

Turns out a shopper noticed Confederate and Nazi merchandise for sale at a table, became upset and made a complaint to police, Chief William Wright told the Record-Journal.

Police were dispatched to the scene and confirmed the items were for sale, but the man who complained — who the Record-Journal said is Jewish — was told that nothing could be done since the items were on private property.

“It’s not criminally illegal, but obviously it offended this person," Wright told the paper. "It causes some people a sense of being uncomfortable. Certainly the owner could preclude this merchandise.”

The man who made the complaint wanted to remain anonymous over fear of local backlash but told the Record-Journal that he was "shaking and almost vomiting" and then he "had to run."

He told the paper that his grandmother "had numbers,” referring to how Nazis marked Jews in concentration camps.

The seller of the items told the man he was selling so much merchandise that he "can’t keep it in stock.”

[sharequote align="center"] "It’s not a crime but I would call it hate." [/sharequote]

The man also contacted Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr., who asked Wright to determine if any laws were broken, the Record-Journal said.

“I had to check with the chief over what is actionable and what isn’t,” Dickinson told the paper. “Unless something violates state or federal law, there’s no jurisdiction for government to do anything. We had to ask, is it something controlled by law?”

More from the Record-Journal:

Joshua Sayles, assistant regional director of the Anti-Defamation League in Connecticut, said selling Confederate and Nazi goods isn’t a moral issue if the merchandise consists of authentic war pieces purchased by a serious collector. But too often, they are cheap replicas and used as symbols of hate.

“It’s not the first time I’ve heard of this,” Sayles said. “It’s unfortunate that under the law people have the right to sell these things; but it doesn’t mean they should sell these things. It’s not a crime but I would call it hate. People look at the situation in Charleston and say it’s down in the South. But this stuff is here in Connecticut.”

Jason Teal, president of the Meriden-Wallingford NAACP, told the paper the issue is "difficult because it’s on private property and it’s considered free speech."

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