Protester draws attention with Nazi salutes and controversial sign in Cape Coral

A solo protester in Cape Coral drew attention Tuesday evening at the corner of Chiquita Boulevard and Pine Island Road with a "White Lives Matter" sign and repeated Nazi salutes, prompting concern from residents and a call to police. Sebastian Lopez, a Cape Coral resident, described his reaction to the scene. "I just thought, this has to be crazy or this has to be funny in some way. But then to my surprise, he turns around and then I see what's on the sign," Lopez said. Lopez expressed concern about the gestures made by the protester. "Everyone has freedom of speech. You know, you can come out here and say blue lives matter, white lives matter, black lives matter. But it's the symbolism, right, that gets taken out of context," he said. Cape Coral police confirmed they received a call about a disturbance at around 7:15 p.m. They said no arrests were made because no crimes were committed. Lopez later discovered that the protester was a social media streamer with more than 2,000 followers. He said the streamer had been posting live content, including footage of himself driving along Pine Island Road and shouting racial slurs. "You can go back and see the stream. He was sitting at Hurricanes and before that he was driving up and down Pine Island screaming the N-word," Lopez said. Other residents expressed their disapproval of the protester's actions. "Cape Coral is very diversified. So, you got a mixture of a lot of people living here. And, it's I think just anywhere it's not acceptable," said Scott Carreon, a Cape Coral resident. Anastasia Ann, another resident, shared her thoughts on the protester's motives. "If he's a streamer, that makes total sense, like he doesn't care for whether or not they're in his beliefs, he just wants to feel seen and heard on his platforms," Ann said. The protester has not yet responded to requests for comment. DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment and original programming on your TV.