TAMPA, Fla. — Florida officials condemned the antisemitic demonstrators who turned up Saturday outside the Tampa Convention Center.
The group was spotted with swastika signs and the SS symbol, with pictures sent to The Florida Holocaust Museum by those nearby.
"In my hometown of Tampa Bay, to see a swastika, it's just personal," said Mike Igel said, the museum's chairman. Igel's grandparents were survivors of the Holocaust. They had to give up their infant baby, Igel's aunt, to survive and gain protection from the Nazis.
Her picture as an infant now hangs up in the museum, and she was able to reunite with her family.
The demonstration happened outside a student summit held by the conservative organization Turning Point USA. A spokesperson for the group wrote in part that it "100% condemns those ideologies in the strongest of terms."
Igel said the recent act of hate is a reminder of how much progress is still needed and aims to stop the hate through education and awareness.
"We're better than this and so, we need to drown that out," Igel said. "There's no place for that in a civilized community like ours."
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, the first Jewish woman to serve in the state's cabinet, on Sunday called on Gov. Ron DeSantis to condemn the symbols.
"We need to stand united, this is not a Democratic or Republican issue. This is a human issue," Fried said. She continued on to say, "These kinds of actions and these kinds of words are to be condemned."
Meanwhile, Congressman Charlie Crist tweeted, in part: "We need a governor that'll forcefully condemn hate. DeSantis is coddling antisemitism because he views them as part of his base."
Igel said he anticipates more antisemitic acts to take place, but it only fuels to keep educating the public.
"I just hope that I'm doing my little part to make them proud and to honor all of the survivors and all of the victims," he said.
A Turning Point USA spokesperson said security attempted to remove demonstrators but were on public property, therefore were not permitted to do so.
"We have no idea who they are or why they were at the convention center. They have nothing to do with TPUSA, our event, or our students. Our students, after initially confronting them, ultimately took the mature route and vacated the space. Once that happened, these individuals left," Turning Point USA stated.
The demonstrations weren't the first example of antisemitism this year in the Tampa Bay region.
In early June, The Tampa Police Department investigated dozens of antisemitic flyers distributed to people's doorsteps in Hyde Park. Neighbors also reported seeing a similar situation in Lutz on Sunday.
A Sarasota neighborhood also reported antisemitic flyers found this year.
10 Tampa Bay reached out to the governor's office for comment Sunday afternoon but did not hear back.