Jewish Md. Delegate Claims Man Yelled 'Heil Hitler' At Her
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- As the primaries get closer, verbal attacks between candidates are heating up. For one Maryland delegate, hateful speech didn't come from her opponent, but a man driving by.
Maryland Del. Shelly Hettleman said she was on the corner of Greenspring Valley and Falls Road in Baltimore County during the Monday morning rush hour when a man "with hatred in his face" stuck his head out of the window and screamed "Heil Hitler, you don't represent us" several times. Hettleman added he also shouted multiple expletives and "stopped for a while on the ramp."
Hettleman, who is Jewish, says she, her husband and her campaign manager were stunned.
They were also concerned the driver may come toward them.
"I was a little nervous. We were holding a banner. I was on one side, he was on the other. The campaign manager was on the other side of the grassy spot. We looked at each other and looked at him and stopped. We didn't know what to say. I was just thinking 'Is he going to come out and do something to us?'" Hettleman said.
The driver eventually left. But the Hettlemans voiced their concerns and frustration on social media. Then someone posted an anti-Semitic rant with a picture of Hitler.
"On the one hand, it's shocking and on the other hand, it's not so shocking. It feels today like people are more willing to let out what they might have a few years ago thought quietly," Hettleman said.
The delegate said she has received several supportive messages
"We are going to go back to the same spot on Monday morning at 7:30 and we are going to have a wave against hate. We want people to come out with homemade signs that are positive. We hope we will not experience the same thing," Hettleman said.
There were 61 reports of anti-Jewish incidents sent to police across Maryland.
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