A family in Brooklyn faced backlash this week for displaying a Taliban flag outside their home, leading to its removal following criticism from a local politician and inquiries from the New York Post.
Councilwoman Inna Vernikov (R-Brooklyn) posted a video on Tuesday showing her outside a Brighton Beach residence, condemning the occupants for flying what has been Afghanistan’s flag since the Taliban took control of the country in 2021.
“We have terrorist supporters living amongst us,” Vernikov said in the video, which also showed a Palestinian flag below the black-and-white Taliban banner outside the home on Brighton 5th Street.
A 28-year-old man living at the residence later claimed that his family was unaware of the flag’s association with the Taliban, which hosted al-Qaeda and its leader, Osama bin Laden, in Afghanistan before 9/11.
“We’re not behind any agency or any agenda, or nothing like that. We’re normal, average New Yorkers,” he said as quoted by the New York Post.
Despite this explanation, the man’s father and another relative removed both flags shortly afterward, citing death threats prompted by the councilwoman’s post. They mentioned that the flags had flown for two months without incident prior to this controversy.
Vernikov praised the decision to take down the flag, emphasizing that displaying it is offensive to Americans and military personnel affected by Taliban-related violence.
“It’s a slap in the face to every American, military member, and otherwise who was murdered under that flag,” Vernikov stated.
This story was originally reported by the New York Post.
