An Illinois Council member has ignited a firestorm of outrage after making a swastika as his Facebook profile picture, sparking condemnation from city officials and Jewish leaders.
The shocking post by Champaign City Council member Davion Williams, which appeared on Friday, led Mayor Deborah Frank Feinen and the entire council -excluding Williams – to issue a forceful statement denouncing his actions as ‘reckless’ and ‘unacceptable.’
‘This blatant display and disregard for the values we uphold as a City is unacceptable,’ the statement read.
‘His posts and comments were reckless, and we strongly condemn them. We refuse to allow his statements to reflect our City organization or our community.’
Williams, however, defended his actions, claiming his intent was to start a conversation about the symbol’s original meaning in religious and cultural traditions such as Buddhism.
‘People see something and they immediately think negative, when in fact, that is a positive symbol that has been around for thousands of years,’ he argued.
‘What has happened is we’ve been taught that it’s a bad symbol, when in actuality, the truth of it is, it is not.’
The council’s rebuke was swift and unambiguous.
‘We understand the fear that rips through a community when a local elected official makes residents feel unsafe with their rhetoric,’ the statement continued.
Mayor Feinen personally took to Facebook to express her disgust, posting: ‘I strongly denounce this hate. I will be issuing a full statement today on this, but I did not want to let this hate happen without taking an immediate stand.’
This is not the first time Williams has come under fire for controversial statements.
Just last month, he was criticized for antisemitic remarks made during a December 17 city council meeting, where he suggested that Jewish individuals wield disproportionate control over industries such as music, media, and food.
He even claimed he had stopped eating Pringles upon learning they were kosher.
‘Council member Williams raised several tropes that were Judeophobic and antisemitic,’ said Hillel Executive Director Erez Cohen. ‘Many of our community members were really shocked and deeply hurt by what was said.’
Following the backlash from his December remarks, Williams issued a public apology and met with Jewish leaders to discuss their concerns.
‘Please accept this statement as a heartfelt apology for my comments,’ he said at the time. ‘It was never my intention for my comments to be offensive, hurtful or antisemitic.’
However, his latest actions have reignited anger and calls for his resignation.
Despite mounting pressure, Williams has stated that he has no intention of stepping down.
‘I’m not a hateful person, I’m not whatsoever, I’m not trying to be,’ he said in an interview with The News-Gazette. ‘I just want people to think critically and understand that there’s other opinions out there, outside of what we have been taught.’
Williams went on to compare the swastika’s association with Nazism to the Ku Klux Klan’s use of the cross, arguing that symbols can have multiple meanings.
However, critics reject his justification, emphasizing that the swastika remains an emblem of terror and genocide for millions of people.
Mayor Feinen and the council made it clear that they stand ‘firm’ in their commitment to denouncing hate.
‘We are a welcoming community, and hate has no home here,’ they stated.
The controversy has left the city divided, with many residents expressing outrage over Williams’ refusal to resign and his attempts to rationalize his actions only fueling further condemnation.