Washington, DC was not the only city where Trump supporters were protesting against the confirmation of the Biden/Harris win yesterday, with events happening in many American cities. However, Sacramento has attracted the attention of many Icelanders, as a Trump supporter was spotted in that city carrying an Icelandic flag, prompting many to ask: is this an Icelander?
Journalist Illugi Jökullsson was first to point this out publicly, posting about it on Facebook. This post included two screenshots of a livestream of the Sacramento event from Black Zebra Productions, with more screencaps in the comments.
At approximately two hours and seventeen minutes into the stream, Trump supporters and counter-protestors are seen engaging in a stand off. Amongst the Trump supporters is a man with an Icelandic flag in his backpack, who is particularly confrontational with the crowd. But the big question being raised in the comments of the post was whether or not the man in question is a countryman.
“He’s an Icelander,” Illugi asserts. “He’s called ‘Iceland’ a few times in the video.”
Others are not so convinced. Journalist Haukur Már Helgason offered the following:
“He doesn’t have to be Icelandic, the guy. The Icelandic and Norwegian flags are both amongst the symbols that Nazis in Germany adorn themselves with. A dog whistle, as more obvious symbology is banned.”
Some further speculated that this may be a person of Icelandic heritage, and not necessarily an Icelander. Which is not outside the realm of reason: many Icelanders immigrated to North America in the late 19th century, although communities of Icelanders on the other side of the Atlantic are more common in the US Midwest, and the plains of Canada.
A number of commenters reminded others that everyone in the video is engaging in their democratic right to protest. No one disputed this, but Claudia Glódís Gunnarsdóttir offered what many were likely thinking: “I hope he’s just pretending to be Icelandic. But that’s actually bad enough.”
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