People waving Nazi swastika flags argue with conservatives during a protest outside the Tampa Convention Center, where Turning Point USA’s (TPUSA) Student Action Summit (SAS) is being held, in Tampa, Florida, U.S. July 23, 2022. REUTERS/Marco Bello

A neo-Nazi demonstration staged outside a conference for conservative students in Tampa, Florida, has been roundly condemned by Jewish leaders and state officials.

Protesters on Saturday waved flags representing the Nazi party and the SS, a Nazi paramilitary organization, near the Tampa Convention Center, where Turning Point USA held its annual Student Action Summit. The three-day conference played host to former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other prominent conservatives.

According to the Associated Press, the neo-Nazi protesters “briefly” confronted pro-choice demonstrators participating in their own march. They also distributed antisemitic flyers produced by the so-called “Goyim Defense League (GDL),” a neo-Nazi group identified by the Anti-Defamation League as a “small network of virulently antisemitic provocateurs.”

Mike Igel, chairman of the Florida Holocaust Museum, which is located a half-hour drive from Tampa Convention Center, said the protest was a “direct threat” to the local Jewish community.

“Carrying the Nazi flag, or that of the SS, the unit responsible for some of the worst atrocities of the Holocaust, is an indefensible act of pure hatred,” Igel said. “This isn’t about politics or religion. It’s about humanity.”

Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet told the AP that the organization’s security attempted to remove the individuals, but had no recourse as they were located on public property.

“We have no idea who they are are or why they were here,” Kolvet told the news agency Sunday. “They had nothing to do with TPUSA, our event, or our students. Our students, after initially confronting them, ultimately took the mature route and vacated the space. Once that happened, these individuals left.”

Commenting on Twitter, Florida Senator Rick Scott (R) called the demonstration a “disgusting act of hateful antisemitism.”

“[It] doesn’t belong in Florida, our nation nation or anywhere across the world,” he said. “We stand with our Jewish community and against this hate. It must end.”

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate seeking to replace DeSantis, said, “we need to stand united, this is not a Democratic or Republican issue. This is a human issue.”

“These kinds of actions and these kinds of words are to be condemned,” she continued, according to local CBS affiliate.