Controversy has erupted along the Hudson River.
An idyllic village in upstate New York is reeling after a man made a Nazi salute at a weekend block party, highlighting a growing issue with white supremacist activities in the Hudson Valley.
The disturbing incident took place on May 30 in Fishkill, when a man with a shaved head jumped behind two young dancers, who are both non-white, during a local event. He then made the offensive gesture before disappearing into the crowd.
The video of this shocking act at the Fishkill Block Party quickly spread online, prompting Dutchess County officials to speak out against it.
“To get straight to the point—a man disrupted some young ladies’ TikTok video by jumping in and performing a Nazi salute,” Dutchess County Legislator Doug McHoul commented on Facebook.
“Here are my thoughts: 1) He’s an idiot. 2) I support free speech, but not when it signifies genocide. 3) This behavior is unacceptable in our community. If you know this individual, tell him to post an apology video, and I’ll gladly share it!”
The Fishkill fascist remained publicly unidentified a week later, even as internet sleuths worked to unmask him.
Naked bigotry unfortunately isn’t unheard of in the Hudson Valley – with white supremacists carpeting communities with racist literature, holding protests and, in at least one case, claiming Fishkill itself as their home.
Prominent white supremacist hatemonger Jesse Dunstan, who co-hosts vile podcast “The Daily Shoah,” had lived in Fishkill, The Highlands Current first reported.
A masked supremacist group even staged a “White Lives Matter” demonstration in hippy-dippy Woodstock during 2022, Hudson Valley One reported.
And the brazenly racist Identity Evropa group plastered posters reading “Is diversity really our strength?” in Somers and Katonah in Westchester County in 2019.
In a 2024 report, Poughkeepsie-based WPDH radio outlined several displays of hate and intolerance in the area, including a nut in a clown suit holding up a sign reading, “Dunkin Donuts Hire Retards: They Suck” outside one outlet in Hopewell Junction.
Another man was caught on cell phone video giving motorists a Nazi salute as they drove past him on Route 44 in Pleasant Valley, the outlet reported.
The latest Nazi salute prompted elected officials to release a scathing rebuke this week.
“The Village of Fishkill stands firmly against antisemitism, bigotry, racism, and hatred in all their forms,” Mayor Kathleen Martin said in a statement posted on the village Facebook page, and reposted by the neighboring Town of Fishkill.
“Acts of prejudice and intolerance have no place in our community,” she said. “Our strength comes from the diversity of our residents, and from the shared values of respect, dignity, and inclusion that unite us.”
The statement was later reposted by the neighboring Town of Fishkill.
