Madison Reporter

Still shocked University of Wisconsin-Madison students continue to express outrage after an unknown individual roamed State Street over Halloween weekend dressed in an Adolf Hitler.

The Daily Cardinal reports a growing number of them are now pointing fingers at university officials over what they deem to be a lack of initiative in responding to the anti-Semitic incident.

“We couldn’t believe that somebody would actually do this and that they would be brazenly walking around in the middle of downtown [Madison] on Halloween dressed like that,” said UW-Madison student Trevor Lyons. “The whole situation was just harmful and confusing.”

Students said police were protecting the individual and preventing anyone from doing harm to him, though they seemed understanding of many of the bystanders taking advantage of their legal right to speak out.

Across campus, there was a flood of support and understanding from the Jewish community, with Rabbi Mendel Matusof of Chabad saying that while the holiday allowed for dark humor, hateful actions had no place. He encouraged students to find comfort in Chabad and the local Jewish community, reasoning that anti-Semitism is not a Jewish problem, but an issue to be fixed by those who are acting hatefully. 

Ultimately, UW officials released a statement expressing that hateful actions had no place on campus and in the community, though the person was not affiliated with UW Madison and the events did not take place on campus.

According to Channel3000.com, the Madison Children’s Museum is now indicating that the individual dressed in was an employee of the company who has now been terminated. In addition, police officials report that an interview with the person revealed that he suffers from cognitive impairment due to a traumatic brain injury.