Two Nazi flags were spotted on display from the roof of a high school outside of Dallas over the weekend, sparking an investigation.
According to the Heath Department of Public Safety, police responded to a report early Saturday morning and immediately removed the “antisemitic materials” that were displayed. Police said they’ve launched an investigation.
“We want to assure our community that we take this incident seriously,” police wrote in a Facebook post. “We will not tolerate this behavior, and we are committed to holding those responsible accountable.”
During a public meeting on Monday, school board member Grant DuBois condemned the flags and praised the students who initially reported them.
“The display of antisemitic flags on our campus is a hateful act that does not reflect the values of our district, period,” he said, according to local TV station WFAA. “We do not tolerate that as a school district. We do not tolerate that as a community.”
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Stephanie Parnes, an alumna of the high school, told WFAA that she saw a photo of the two flags with swastikas circulating online.
“What happened was not a joke; it’s a threat,” Parnes told WFAA.
The image of the flags spread across social media, with students and parents expressing disbelief and unease. Almost 3,000 students are enrolled at the high school, which sits among affluent suburbs east of Dallas and opened in 2005.
Jeremiah McClure, Heath’s mayor, also condemned the display of the flags in a statement.
“As the Mayor of Heath, I stand with our community in firm opposition to any acts of hatred, including the hateful display of flags that were found at Rockwall-Heath High School yesterday morning. We believe in the power of love, unity, and respect for all people, as God calls us to do,” McClure said.
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He added that the city will continue working with the school district to investigate the situation.
“Rest assured, these actions will not be tolerated, and those accountable will face the consequences of their behavior,” he said.
Rockwall-Heath High School’s principal did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
White supremacy-related incidents have been on the rise in the U.S., according to the Anti-Defamation League. In 2024, the league recorded 9,354 antisemitic incidents across the country, a 5% increase from the previous year and an 893% increase over the past 10 years. The organization said the antisemitic incidents have become persistent since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
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Out of the 9,354 antisemitic incidents the league reported in 2024, 860 took place at a kindergarten through 12th-grade school, and more than half of those incidents involved a swastika. Texas saw 251 antisemitic incidents in 2024.
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