"While these residents have the legal right to display Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin in effigy, I strongly oppose political speech that references violence -- real or perceived,” Prang said in a statement.
The effigy, which has caught the attention of the local news, kicking off news casts, and even becoming a singular political hot topic on which all of The View co-hosts could agree over the display’s offensiveness, is a perfectly legal act.
Sporting Palin’s signature red suit, glasses and an up-do the effigy hangs high from the West Hollywood residence, while a John McCain mock-up sits in the chimney surrounded by flames, according to the Los Angeles Times.
While some West Hollywood residents called the effigy a hate crime, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department said the effigy is not considered a hate crime since it’s part of a larger Halloween display.
"I'm not defending this; I'm not criticizing it. It doesn't rise to the level of hate crime," said the spokesman Steve Whitmore, according to the LA Times. "Now, if there was a crime against bad taste... "
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