'Purge And Purify' Halloween Decorations Aren't Racist, Homeowner Says: I Have A 'Black Friend'

Halloween decor has caused quite a stir in the quaint town of Roy, Utah Thursday.

The sign read, "Make America Great Again. Purge and Purify." While some neighbors were uncomfortable with the decoration, sign creator and former Marine Kade Rogers, said the sign was not racially driven, but derived from his love of the movie series, "The Purge."

In an interview with Chris Jones of KUTV Thursday, Rogers said that the sign was inspired by the 2016 horror film, "The Purge: Election Year," and will continue to stand by his first amendment right.

"It is my right as an American," Rogers said. "I'm not saying anything racist, this is not meaning to be racist ... In fact, I even have a black friend, his name is Issac."

Even though Rogers did not intend to raise controversy, neighbors showed their disinterest. Some said it was outwardly racist, while others see it as a mocking of President Donald Trump.

"That's disturbing, I don't know what (Rogers) was thinking," Nathan Peterson, neighbor to Rogers, said in an interview on Thursday. "It's very out there; a very strong, negative statement."

Discussion about the apparent racist Halloween decor continued onto the city's Facebook page, "Citizens of Roy City, Utah," where views of the sign seem to be split. No matter what the public's views of the sign are, Rogers had no plan to remove it.

"I'm a Republican and a supporter of Trump, but that doesn't have to do with this," Rogers said. "This is all Halloween ... if someone got offended, I apologize, but I am not taking it down either way."

Nonetheless, Rogers' sign comes at a sensitive time, with hate crimes on the rise. Cities across America have experienced an increase in reported hate crimes, according to a report by Huffington Post, with significant percentage differences in all of America's largest cities with the exception of Houston.

"Hate crimes in Chicago rose 20 percent in 2016, 24 percent in New York City, 15 percent in Los Angeles, and 50 percent in Philadelphia," the report read. "The city with the largest increase in hate crimes was Washington, D.C., which saw a 62 percent rise."