Oneonta 18YO Charged Over Hitler Posters Put Up At Purchase

UPDATE: An 18-year-old from Oneonta faces a felony charge hanging posters with Nazi symbolism in areas of the Purchase College campus.

Purchase College student Gunnar Hassard was arraigned in Harrison Town Court for Aggravated Harassment in the First Degree, Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino, Jr. announced. Bail was set at $5,000 cash or bond. His next court date is scheduled for Jan. 8.

The felony complaint alleges that the student hung multiple posters which incorporated a swastika and symbols of Nazi Germany, on and near the Humanities Building on Sunday evening during the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah.

The posters carry a song line "Don't be stupid, be a smarty/Come and join the Nazi Party" from Mel Brooks' movie "The Producers." The 1967 satirical film, later turned into a stage musical, is about a washed-up Broadway producer who seeks to cheat investors with a dreadful play that will bomb; too bad for him that the politically incorrect 'Springtime for Hitler: A Gay Romp with Adolf and Eva at Berchtesgaden' is a success.

The complaint says the campus is “frequented and utilized by members of the Jewish community…causing alarm, fear and annoyance to the members of the campus community during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.”

New York State University Police arrested Hassard and charged him with Aggravated Harassment, a hate crime which specifically states a person is guilty of this crime when one “Etches, paints, draws upon or otherwise places a swastika, commonly exhibited as the emblem of Nazi Germany, on any building or other real property…”

Assistant District Attorney Cynthia Adimari, Chief of the Westchester District Attorney Rye Branch, is prosecuting the case.

PURCHASE, NY — Purchase College police have arrested someone in connection with the posters found plastered around the campus on Sunday. The student is awaiting arraignment in Harrison Town Court, according to the Westchester County District Attorney's Office.

The Purchase Phoenix reported that Chief of Police Dayton Tucker sent out a email to the whole community on the SUNY campus announcing the arrest and saying that the DA will pursue an aggravated harassment charge.

The posters carry a song line "Don't be stupid, be a smarty/Come and join the Nazi Party" from Mel Brooks' movie "The Producers." The 1967 satirical film, later turned into a stage musical, is about a washed-up Broadway producer who seeks to cheat investors with a dreadful play that will bomb; too bad for him that the politically incorrect 'Springtime for Hitler: A Gay Romp with Adolf and Eva at Berchtesgaden' is a success.

"No matter what the thoughts were behind this act, it is wrong," Rabbi Ben Shefter, an educator for Westchester Hillel who works with Purchase Hillel said in a statement reported by the Phoenix. " For those that found this flyer funny or appropriate, please get to know some Jewish people and look for a warm community to show you that this is not the way."

Read the coverage by the Phoenix here.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he was disgusted. "In New York, we will not tolerate the toxic social dynamic that is spreading like a cancer across the country and fueling hateful material like the neo-Nazi fliers that were found on this campus," he said. "I am directing the State Police Hate Crimes Unit to assist in the investigation into these fliers. Those behind this noxious act should know that these fliers, far from inciting fear, will only harden our resolve to combat hate in all its forms. We will not cower in the face of hate. While they spread fear, we will spread love."

Harrison resident Rep. Nita Lowey said she was deeply troubled to learn about the posters, especially as Jews across the world came together for the Festival of Lights, a celebration of the triumph of the Jewish people over persecution.

“It is with that same resolve and courage in which the Jews prevailed that we today must confront the disturbing rise of anti-Semitism at home and abroad," she said. "Only by working together will we root out hatred and bigotry in all its forms.”

Photo/ Westchester County District Attorney's Office