Vendors defend Nazi symbols at Sturgis Rally as freedom of speech

STURGIS, S.D. (KRDO) -- With hundreds of thousands of people in attendance at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota, some vendors are selling gear with Nazi symbols displayed prominently, with one vendor saying they're just giving the bikers what they want.

That's according to ABC affiliate KOTA, which reported that the vendors and bikers say they're exercising their First Amendment rights. Several vendors at the rally are selling items with swastikas, SS symbols, and the Confederate Flag, but vendor Jenny Alonso said that doesn't mean they believe in the ideology.

“It's a freedom thing," Jenny Alonso told KOTA. "A lot of bikers want to be free and voice their opinion and I like to cater to what they want. It doesn’t mean that I necessarily believe in everything but, you know, I like to please everybody."

Alonso told KOTA that bikers have a history with swastikas going back to World War II, when US soldiers brought back Nazi memorabilia to hang on their bikes.

But Rabbi Jeffery Sirkman from New York told KOTA he believes the items aren't freedom of speech. He said in a statement, "That is a direct result of the Nazi regime murdering 13 million people, and it ultimately represents evil and hate."

Pastor-Bishop Troy Carr of Faith Temple Church in Rapid City told KOTA that he believes symbols like the Confederate Flag are symbols of racism and misguidedness, however, he did acknowledge the aspect involving freedom of speech.

“We live in a country where we are free to do what we ever want to do and believe whatever we want to believe and so, I would never advocate for vendors not being able to sell whatever people will buy and people buy whatever they are able to purchase," Carr said to KOTA. "But with that then you have to know that there are groups of us; black people, people of color, Jews who find those symbols quite offensive."