A retired Californian pastor was caught on a doorbell camera drawing a swastika on his Jewish neighbor’s box of seltzer left in front of her door, the neighbor says.
Video also captured the ex-pastor, Mark Nakagawa, confronting Leah Grossman, his Jewish neighbor, shortly after completing the drawing on Dec. 5, 2023, KCAL News reported Monday. “I just fell to pieces. Like I’ve never shook like that before. My toes were shaking. I get emotional thinking about it because it reminds me of all the people I know, my family, my children,” Grossman told the outlet. (RELATED: Amazon Appears To Be Selling Swastika Fidget Spinners … They’ve Got A 5-Star Rating)
L.A. – disturbing video footage captures Mark Nakagawa, President of the United Methodist Church, taking a marker and drawing a swastika on a Jewish woman’s package of soda. pic.twitter.com/pMnmauW6z1
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) March 4, 2024
The doorbell camera captured Nakagawa leaning over with a marker and drawing a box of seltzer before walking away. He then turns around and walks back toward the doorbell camera, video shows, at which point opens the door and asks, “Is there a problem?”
Additional footage as the neighbor confronting Nakagawa about the swastika he drew; he flat out denies it despite being caught on video. pic.twitter.com/V6XNEIboPs
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) March 4, 2024
“Is that a Nazi symbol?” Grossman can be heard asking, pointing toward Nakagawa’s drawing. He denied it and further claimed that he was “just walking by.”
“I saw you, I have a camera. Like, what is that? What did you draw there?” Grossman pressed. Nakagawa claimed that he did not know what it was.
Mark Nakagawa and the swastika he was caught on camera drawing. pic.twitter.com/w4YsXiT2B9
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) March 4, 2024
Grossman later alleged to KCAL News that the incident occurred after Nakagawa called her a fascist for hanging the Israeli flag from her balcony after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. However, Nakagawa told the outlet that he was just trying to educate her about the swastika being a Buddhist symbol of love.
“It was bad judgment on my part. I realize that,” Nakagawa added.
Nakagawa is retired pastor and former senior official from the United Methodist Church, the Daily Mail reported. He retired from his posts in 2023, according to the outlet.