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Man Charged After Threat to Pennsylvania Catholic School Over Auschwitz-Style Parade Float

Hanover officials condemned the Nazi imagery, pledging to uphold community values.

Overview

  • Police say Joseph William Gilleo of Bucks County left a voicemail threatening to "turn your little school into a concentration camp" after the float appeared in the Hanover Halloween Parade.
  • The parish canceled two youth events scheduled for Nov. 1 and 2 because of the threat, according to information provided to police.
  • Charging documents list terroristic threats, ethnic intimidation, harassment, and disorderly conduct, and a preliminary arraignment is scheduled for Nov. 5.
  • The voicemail’s caller ID was linked to a number registered to Gilleo’s mother, and his parents told police the voice on the recording was their son.
  • Hanover Borough issued a formal condemnation of the imagery, while the Diocese of Harrisburg and the float’s designer apologized, with the bishop noting the gate was not in the originally approved design.