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SWAT finds Chicago man dead on roof with flamethrower, swastika flag

He had made antisemitic remarks and various threats for months, according to his neighbors.

A SWAT team found a man dead on a roof in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood on June 2, 2023. Source: Twitter.
A SWAT team found a man dead on a roof in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood on June 2, 2023. Source: Twitter.

After a 12-hour standoff, a SWAT team found a man dead on a roof on June 2 in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood. The gunshot to the head was ruled a suicide.

As the man engaged with police, he reportedly shouted threats and obscenities, which he had been doing for months.

“He’s on a loudspeaker, you know, speaking antisemitic things. He’s always playing antisemitic music,” one neighbor told The Chicago Tribune.

The man also flew multiple flags, including an upside-down U.S. flag, a smiley face and a red-and-yellow swastika on a makeshift scaffolding—almost like a crow’s nest on a ship—on the roof.

Police had been called 40 times about the man, reported the Chicago Sun-Times, and a community coalition had contacted government officials about the flag. Reviewing the man’s social media accounts, the Sun-Times found a history of making threats against government officials and promoting conspiracy theories.

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