Jim Urquhart for Insider
- Nazi imagery is being sold at this year's Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota.
- It's the largest motorcycle rally in the world, drawing scores of riders and revelers.
- Dr. Anthony Fauci warned this year's festivities may again become a superspreader event.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
As hundreds of thousands of bikers ride into Sturgis, South Dakota, for it's annual motorcycle rally, vendors selling merchandise featuring Nazi imagery and confederate flags were once again in the spotlight.
According to local ABC News affiliate KOTA, vendors at this year's rally, which is held during the first ten days of August, are selling merchandise bearing Nazi imagery under the guise of supporting freedom of expression for riders and attendees.
One hat bears the initials "SS" of the Schutzstaffel, a Nazi military unit. Under the hat's lid, the text reads, "support your local white boy."
Another was branded with a swastika. According to the report, many vendors also sold Confederate flag memorabilia, to cater to customers who view it as a "heritage" symbol.
"A lot of bikers, you know, it's a freedom thing. A lot of bikers want to be free and voice their opinion and I like to cater to what they want. It doesn't mean that I necessarily believe in everything but, you know, I like to please everybody," said Jenny Alonso, a vendor at the rally, in an interview with KOTA.
Alonso claimed vendors would sell the merchandise as a way to honor US soldiers who brought Nazi memorabilia back as trophies after World War II.
"So, we're kind of honoring that not necessarily that, you know, we believe in Nazis and Hitler, but it's just kind of a special thing that the US military was able to go and win the war and bring things back as souvenirs and they would put them on their bike," Alonso said.
On its website, the rally organizers say it is a place for people of, "all walks of life who share a common love for motorcycles." Insider reached out to the organizers for comment on the merchandise sold at the rally.
Last week, as it was reported that the rally drew some of its largest crowds in years, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he was concerned the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally would become a COVID-19 superspreader event amid a surge of the Delta variant that ravaged communities in parts of the US.