A Kentucky father who donned a Nazi uniform and dressed his son as Adolf Hitler for a Halloween event has apologized.
Bryant Goldbach and his son wore the costumes to Owensboro’s Trail of Treats event last Thursday, local ABC affiliate WEHT Eyewitness News reported. When photos of the father and the 5-year-old were uploaded to Facebook, they sparked an immediate backlash.
Goldbach initially tried to defend his choice, writing that “anyone who knows us knows that we love our history, and often dress the part of historical figures.”
Last year, he dressed as a Confederate soldier for Halloween.
Goldbach denied being a racist, referring to white supremacy as “disgusting.”
“I wasn’t trying to make a statement or put my son in any position,” he told The Owensboro Times. “It was bad judgment. I want people to know I am sorry.”
Prior to its closure, Goldbach’s Facebook page was riddled with slogans such as “White pride doesn’t mean hate” and “Being liberal means being a hypocrite,” per the Evansville Courier & Press.
Goldbach did not respond to HuffPost’s request for comment. An individual who is part of his Facebook community and who asked not to be named provided HuffPost with screenshots of anti-Semitic comments that were made by Goldbach’s wife, MaryAnne, following the costume incident.
Her comments include conspiracy theories that Jews control the banks, the media and the government as well as a number of false assertions based in Holocaust denial.
