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A controversial display of a stuffed body with a photo of President Barack Obama and a noose around its neck was taken down on Wednesday.
And a man who lives at the Plaza Midwood home said he and his roommate were not responsible for the display and that he was just as upset about it as his neighbors.
The man says he hosted a party Saturday at his home. He said his backyard had a scarecrow with the head of a pumpkin, but says someone put the president’s photo on the display after the roommates went in for the night.
The man told NBC Charlotte, the Observer’s news partner, that he left home the next day and didn’t realize Obama’s photo was on the scarecrow until the media began covering the incident. The television station did not identify the man.
He removed the display Wednesday morning.
A day earlier, a long-time Plaza Midwood resident called the Halloween display unacceptable and offensive.
“No matter your political persuasion, this is just way over the edge of good taste,” Jon Gunn told the television station earlier this week.. “I think anyone would take offense to that because it represents lynching. And since it’s the President, doubly so.”
The display was in the backyard, not front. It was visible from a public access point into the neighborhood.
Many NBC Charlotte viewers have asked whether the display was simply a person exercising their First Amendment rights or a threat against the president.
The Secret Service said the agency was aware of the display and planned to contact the home’s resident to determine intent. The agency said that while it respects the right to freedom of speech, effigies and visual presentations that denote a threatening tone are things they investigate.
According to the Secret Service, similar Halloween effigies have recently popped up across the country.
