Chicago was the latest stop on presidential hopeful Donald Trump‘s campaign trail, but the business mogul probably didn’t expect the Windy City to give him such a chilly greeting. Although Trump’s rally was effectively shut down Friday night, a chilling image featuring a supporter of the GOP frontrunner begs many questions.
As reported by Crooks and Liars, an image an elderly white woman adorned in a Trump t-shirt throwing up a Nazi salute has gone viral. The photo was snapped by photojournalist E. Jason Wambsgan for the Chicago Tribune, and the story behind the image was slowly revealed in a Twitter conversation with one of the men standing next to the woman.
Wambsgan posted the image to his Twitter, sparking chatter and speculation. The gentleman to the left of the woman, identified as Michael Joseph Garza, explained that he tried to get the woman to leave for her own safety. He explained as best he could what the situation was.
“I am the man on the left, and she openly Hailed Hitler. And held the stance gladly,” tweeted Garza in response to questions regarding the photo. The woman was later identified as Birgitt Peterson of Yorkville.
He followed with, “I was astounded. Still tried to get her to leave, for her own safety at that point,” and lastly, “I asked her to leave down the path we cleared for her, this was her response.”
Twitter swiftly spread a rumor that Peterson was a supporter of Bernie Sanders by the name of Portia Boulger. Although the women slightly look similar, Boulger said she was nowhere near the rally via a Facebook post and followed it with a tweet this morning.
Garza clarified via Twitter that while he didn’t hear Peterson use the words “Heil, Hitler,” her body language suggested so.
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Photo: E. Jason Wambsgan/Chicago Tribune
