An allegedly drunk theatergoer felt compelled to shout “Hail Hitler, hail Trump!” after a scene in Fiddler on the Roof reminded him of how much he hated the president, according to a police report.
The outburst, which combined the Nazi salute with President Donald Trump‘s name, took place during the Wednesday night showing in Baltimore of the classic play about a Jewish family.
Baltimore police officers were called to the theater as a result of a report of disorderly person, according to Detective Chakia Fennoy.
The suspect, whose name is included in the police report but who is facing no charges, left the location without incident, Fennoy said.
The police report stated that “it was apparent he was intoxicated because of the strong scent of alcohol on his breath.”
The man “advised he had been drinking heavily throughout the night” and the man’s girlfriend told the officer that he “usually takes medication but he had not taken it that evening.”
The responding officer detailed in the report that the man said “the final scene before intermission reminded him of his hatred for Donald Trump which caused him to stand up and yell ‘Hail Hitler, Hail Trump.’ He further advises [sic] that everyone around him got angry, and he didn’t realize there were so many Trump supporters.”
The report stated that the officer believed it was the man’s “intention was to express his dislike for President Donald Trump.”
The Baltimore Sun reported the details of the incident as Rich Scherr, a contributing sportswriter for the paper, was also in the audience.
“People started running,” Scherr told The Baltimore Sun. “I’ll be honest, I was waiting to hear a gunshot. I thought, ‘Here we go.'”
Scherr shared a video that appears to have been taken after the initial shouts that shows members of the audience standing around, looking at what was going on in the balcony of the Hippodrome Theater.
Representatives from The Hippodrome did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment, but they released a statement to The Baltimore Sun.
“We apologize to those patrons who were affected by this unfortunate incident. Our venue has a proud tradition of providing shared experiences to people from all walks of life, right in the heart of this wonderfully diverse city, and we intend to continue that tradition in the spirit of bringing people together, not dividing them,” the statement reads.
Fiddler on the Roof is an award-winning musical that focuses on the traditions and customs of a Jewish family in Russia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The incident happened the day after the FBI released a report noting that the number of hate crimes in the U.S. rose by 17 percent, and less than three weeks after 11 people were killed in a synagogue in Pittsburgh.
“For this to happen not even three weeks removed from the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history, and just days after the FBI released 2017 hate crime data, is deeply disturbing and speaks to the state of hate in our country,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO and national director of the Anti-Defamation League.
“This cannot be normalized. We need to continue to speak out against hate and bigotry in all forms,” Greenblatt said in the statement.
