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Ohio school board member Anne Zakkour throws 'Nazi salute' at district president after he refused to address her question

Following Anne Zakkour’s shocking gestures, the board president, Simon Patry, abruptly submitted his resignation

TIPP CITY, OHIO: Anne Zakkour, a Tipp City School District's board member, gave a sarcastic Nazi salute and shouted 'sieg heil' at the board president after he refused to address her question.

The Board President Simon Patry was talking about transparency surrounding current district projects during an intense meeting on Tuesday, September 5, when Zakkour attempted to interrupt him.

However, Patry refused to deal with her, and said “There's been regular reports ... I'm talking, do not interrupt me, do not make any noises or else I will -- I will not tolerate it.”

Zakkour seemingly didn’t appreciate the way Patry chastised her as she then made the infamous salute and shouted 'sieg heil' in an attempt to mock him for "acting as a dictator," according to Daily Mail.

Why did Simon Patry resign as school board president?

Following Zakkour’s shocking gestures, Patry abruptly submitted his resignation and suggested that his board's vice president, Amber Drum, take his position.

He later said his term was ending in a few months and he wanted to spend more time with family, though he condemned Zakkour in an interview the next day.

"I don't know why anybody would use that, that despicable phrase and gesture," he said, adding "When I walked into the doors was the time I felt that it was highly likely that I would do it today or yesterday," he said, referencing his choice to step down.

Why did Anne Zakkour flash the Nazi salute?

The next day, Zakkour defended her gestures, saying she was forced to retaliate because of Patry’s dictator-like behavior. "Mr Patry has been acting like a dictator on our board for years and last night I had enough of his demands of total obedience," she told WKEF.

"My reaction last night was symbolic and a sarcastic gesture of submission to a board officer acting as a dictator. Enough is enough," she added.

"What happened yesterday was a culmination of four years of being badgered and bullied and being misrepresented," she continued.

The remaining board members had conflicting opinions about Zakkour’s gesture, with one of them, Richard Mains, expressing anger over Patry’s resignation.

"We lost a very good board member last night because of his moving out of our school," Mains said, adding "Simon is a really good person and he did a lot for our schools."

Meanwhile, Theresa Dunaway is furious that no one is defending Zakkour. "This is abusive behaviour. Why did the Superintendent and two other board members sit there silently while he berated her? Nobody should be treated like this, his body language was horrible, his head in his hands, the loud sighing," she said.

"This had been ongoing for 4 years and she's had enough, who could blame her?" she added.

Zakkour and Dunaway were previously accused of "willful neglect to enforce the law and uphold their duties" as well as "misfeasance and/or nonfeasance in office" and abuse of power in the suit.

The pair refused to step down and the suit was eventually dismissed, according to the Dayton Daily News.