Overview
- Drake University removed volunteer hockey coach Jessie Rudin after a photo showed her posing with a man dressed as Adolf Hitler at Miss Kitty’s in Clive.
- The man, identified as Donald Gardner, wore a swastika armband and iron cross and was photographed performing a Nazi salute beside two women.
- The Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines condemned the incident as antisemitism, with executive director Jarad Bernstein criticizing the bar owner’s initial response caught on video.
- Owner E. J. says he later decided to remove Gardner, while Gardner says he left on his own; the bar plans to tighten costume policies as the owner reports death threats and shuttered phones and social media.
- Gardner apologized and said he chose the outfit for “shock value,” stating he takes full responsibility, while Easterseals Iowa said the photo does not reflect its values without detailing discipline.