Norfolk, Va. - A Norfolk man is getting a lot of backlash after flying a flag with a swastika on it, but Monday he defended his reason for putting it up.
"I don't think Obama's going to put people in ovens, but we are certainly are in a death spiral which I don't think we're going to recover," he said, while speaking on the radio on WNIS Monday morning.
NewsChannel 3 first told you about what happened on Friday.
Since then, there's been a big response from people, and not just online.
Dr. Wheeler says people have driven up and down his street, taking pictures and pointing out his house. A few cars have passed by up to eight times.
Saturday morning he says he found one of his windows broken.
NewsChannel 3 spoke with him extensively Monday about the reaction from people and if he stands by his actions. He would not go on camera, but expressed views similar to the ones he made on the radio.
"I wanted to shock. I did not want to offend. I wanted to shock... Most people in my neighborhood I thought were sophisticated and intelligent enough not to be offended but to understand why it was being flown. It was being flown one minute after the announcement," he said on WNIS.
As NewsChannel 3 reported Friday, Dr. Wheeler says he put up the flag in response to President Obama's actions on immigration.
He says he specifically chose the flag he displayed, a German military battle flag instead of the Nazi party flag, because he thought that one was too offensive.
He did want to show a swastika, though, to express what he sees as a similarity between Hitler and Obama.
"How do I equate Obama with Hitler?" he said on WNIS, "Well number one, look at the millions of people, innocents that have been murdered during the Obama administration and sanctioned during the Obama administration." His comment is referring to some types of abortion.
Dr. Wheeler says he purchased the flag several weeks ago knowing an announcement about immigration was coming and wanted to be ready.
He says he has learned a lot from all that happened, saying he did not realize how offensive it would be to people and for that he is sorry. He says he does not plan to fly it again.
