The man who shouted “Heil Hitler! Heil Trump!” in Baltimore’s Hippodrome during the intermission of Fiddler on the Roof on November 14 actually meant his outburst to be a gesture of solidarity with oppressed people and a challenge to the Trump Administration’s immigration policies, CNN reported today.
Anthony M. Derlunas, 58, told CNN’s Baltimore affiliate “I opened my mouth and it was so wrong. I know that now…I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m so ashamed.” According to the Baltimore Sun, he told police he had been drinking heavily before the show.
In the scene immediately preceding the intermission, anti-Semitic thugs break into a Jewish wedding, smashing gifts and beating guests. Derlunus’ reaction caused many patrons to boo and shout back at him, and others to flee to the lobby, fearful that the Nazi saluter might be carrying a gun. Ushers and Hippodrome security ushered him out of the theater and Baltimore Police issued him a stop ticket.
According to the police report, the scene at the wedding reminded Derlunas of his hatred for Trump, which prompted the outburst. It “came out wrong,” he told the Baltimore Sun, and was “beyond a mistake,”
Shortly after the incident, the Hippodrome released a statement saying incidents like Derlunas’ outburst “will not be tolerated” and assuring that its security force provides metal detection and screening for weapons.
When someone stands up in a theater and shouts “Heil Hitler! Heil Trump!” it is reasonable to assume that he is in favor of Hitler and Trump. That was not only my assumption, but the assumption of almost all the people in the audience, some of whom also assumed that he had a gun and was about to fire.
This was an assumption based on available evidence, not an opinion. The only opinion I expressed in the earlier article related to the reprehensible anti-Semitic characters who disrupted the wedding in the play, just prior to the intermission. This opinion, I believe, was shared by the playwright.
In writing today’s article, I assumed that Mr. Derlunas was a Trump critic. I also based this assumption on available evidence — i.e., that he now says he meant it in order to deride Trump’s policies. If tomorrow he turns around and says he was only joking about being a Trump critic and actually loves the man, then this assumption will also be incorrect.
Finally, in reporting that an apparent Trump supporter disrupted a performance by shouting a Nazi slogan, I am not expressing an opinion about Trump. Trump is responsible for the behavior of his supporters only to the extent that he encourages that behavior. Nowhere in either article have I suggested that Trump encourages his supporters to be anti-Semitic.
In your follow-up article to last week’s Trump-hating headlined (“Assumed Trump Hater…”) piece, why didn’t you include an apology for DC Theatre Scene’s previous lack of restraint? Giving opinion in reviews of shows is expected, and welcomed. But, giving ill-informed hate-centric opinion in news articles, while revealing a writer’s politics, does little to establish credibility for your publication.