The election of President-elect Donald Trump has emboldened some of his supporters to act out on his campaign rhetoric with impunity. Despite Trump’s call for the nation to come together, many of those who voted for him consider his selection to be mandate.
In the immediate aftermath of Trump’s victory, the hatred spread from vicious posts on Facebook and Twitter, to intimidation in the streets, to multiple acts of vandalism.
In Philadelphia, swastikas and Trump’s name (with the T replaced by an additional swastika) were spray-painted on a storefront, including the words “Sieg Heil 2016.” Sieg heil was the victory salute adopted by the Nazis in the 1930s.