SWAT finds Chicago man dead on roof with flamethrower, swastika flag

He had made antisemitic remarks and various threats for months, according to his neighbors.

A+SWAT+team+found+a+man+dead+on+a+roof+in+Chicago%E2%80%99s+Humboldt+Park+neighborhood+on+June+2%2C+2023.

A SWAT team found a man dead on a roof in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood on June 2, 2023. Source: Twitter.

After a 12-hour standoff, a SWAT team found a man dead on a roof on June 2 in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood. The gunshot to the head was ruled a suicide.

As the man engaged with police, he reportedly shouted threats and obscenities, which he had been doing for months.

“He’s on a loudspeaker, you know, speaking antisemitic things. He’s always playing antisemitic music,” one neighbor told The Chicago Tribune.

The man also flew multiple flags, including an upside-down U.S. flag, a smiley face and a red-and-yellow swastika on a makeshift scaffolding—almost like a crow’s nest on a ship—on the roof.

Police had been called 40 times about the man, reported the Chicago Sun-Times, and a community coalition had contacted government officials about the flag. Reviewing the man’s social media accounts, the Sun-Times found a history of making threats against government officials and promoting conspiracy theories.