An elusive man carrying a large sign with a swastika and “Israeli Army = Nazis” on it was thrown out of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting Wednesday night, with sources telling The Post he is a serial troll known for disrupting protests across the Big Apple
The mystery man — happy to display his racist views while hiding his face behind sunglasses and a balaclava — wore a huge Christian cross around his neck. He also clashed with pro-Palestine protesters who swarmed the annual tree-lighting before he was asked to leave by police.
The same man can be seen in various videos from the protest standing within crowds of pro-Palestine demonstrators, many of whom seem agitated by his presence as they attempted to derail the annual tree lighting while professing support for Gaza.
Sources told The Post the swastika-toting man has recently been making regular appearances at Pro-Palestinian rallies across New York City in recent weeks, always accompanied by an antisemitic sign.
The same man appeared to have been kicked out of a protest Tuesday outside the Consulate of Egypt.
Video shared on X shows the man decked out in black with dark sunglasses, a black ski mask and his massive cross necklace being moved away from the protest by NYPD officers.
In the clip, he is carrying the same sign comparing the Israeli military to Nazis that was seen at Wednesday’s tree lighting.
Jewish antifascist group Outlive Them NYC on Wednesday wrote on X the man has been known to infiltrate protests with antisemitic signs.
“NYC! This person, a known Christian nationalist, has been infiltrating Palestine Solidarity actions in NYC this month. He was at Brooklyn Museum 10/28 and in Manhattan last week with a sign that said “JEWS CONTROL US UK & EU,” the group wrote on X.
According to Twitter sleuths, the man also appears to have been interviewed by The Good Liars subversive comedy duo.
Video shared by the political comics shows a man matching the desription of the protest troll going on a tirade about Jewish people controlling the country while holding a sign reading “Bragg’s Jews Michael Cohen Allen Weisselberg David Pecker.”
“They control the entire f—ing country. They control Wall Street. They control the banks. They control Hollywood. Every f—ing building in New York City is owned by Jews,” the man featured in the comedy clip yells.
New York has seen a spike in hate crimes since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel — with nearly 60% of the heinous acts targeting the Jewish community, NYPD officials have said.
Nazi swastika graffiti, hateful messages and abhorrent messages have been scrawled in public places across the city.
Mayor Eric Adams has blasted antisemitic attacks, saying after a recent incident at Hillcrest High School in Queens:
“The vile show of antisemitism … was motivated by ignorance-fueled hatred, plain and simple, and it will not be tolerated in any of our schools, let alone anywhere else in our city. We are better than this,”
The Post has not been able to independently verify the swastika-carrying man’s identity, or whether the man spotted at recent protests was the same man captured in the Good Liars clip.
He was not one of seven arrested following Wednesday night’s protest.
One person was charged with a felony, five people were hit with misdemeanor raps and one juvenile was cuffed as the enormous crowd gathered along Sixth Avenue where hordes of tourists were waiting in line to see the iconic ceremony on Wednesday night.
The six adults arrested ranged in age from 20 to 54 and live around New York and in New Jersey, according to police.
Despite the rally, the 91st annual tree-lighting ceremony went off without a hitch.
Kelly Clarkson hosted and performed at the two-hour extravaganza, kicking off the show with a rendition of her 2013 song “Underneath the Tree” before other stars including KeKe Palmer, Barry Manilow, David Foster and his wife Katharine McPhee added to the event.
Cher even made an appearance, performing her new song, “DJ Play a Christmas Song” off her very first Christmas album.