Man claims Nazi swastika flags in Chicago apartment windows is to bring attention to missing fiancée

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Neighbors in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood are distressed over Nazi flags flying in the window of an apartment.

"To have that swastika flag there makes me sick to my stomach," said Patricia Guerrero, the owner of Edgewater Tacos.

Guerrero said she's lived in the neighborhood for decades.

"Everyone is welcome. Everyone is welcome and that is scaring people away," she said of the Nazi flags flying in multiple apartment windows directly behind her restaurant.

Guerrero said she's appalled.

"I'm Latina. I don't want that. I don't want to live in fear because that's not what Edgewater's about," she said.

The flags are visible from the street, but ABC7 has blurred the the video.

Guerrero said she's worked hard every day to give back to her neighbors and help bring the community together.

"I will say something when I see something that is not right. And that is not right. That is not OK. And that is not welcome here in our community," she said.

Matthew Rais said he lives in the city, is Jewish and has always felt welcomed.

"It's a lost cause what they're fighting for. We're all Americans and we need to come together in unity," Rais said.

Peter Craig said he is the man who put the Nazi flags in those windows.

"I don't like Nazis. Nobody likes Nazis. Nobody likes what happened in World War II. But everybody in America deserves to have their home as their sanctuary," Craig said.

He said he put up the flags to get attention for his missing fiancée, Ariana Daniels. Craig said he was given an eviction notice specifically referencing the Nazi flags and is currently in discussions with his landlord to take them down.

"I'm not a skinhead. I am not a skinhead. I'm a long-haired, peace loving, freaky hippy," he said.

But until he does take the flags down, neighbors said they're frustrated with such a divisive display.

"There should be zero tolerance for racism," Guerrero said.

"The only way to defeat hate is through love. And we welcome them to change eventually and to see that everybody has a right to exist in this world, even them," Rais said.

As of Thursday afternoon, the flags had not been removed. ABC7 contacted property management Root Reality for comment, and they replied with the following statement: "Root Realty abhors the hate symbol that a tenant in a building we manage displayed in the tenant's window. We are doing everything possible to get this resolved within the bounds of what we are legally permitted to do. We've been in communication with the individual, with building residents, legal counsel, the alderman's office, and law enforcement. We have and will be continuing to communicate with all residents in the building on updates and steps we are taking to address the situation."