California high schoolers who formed human swastika will face 'justice,' principal says

Students who formed a human swastika on a high school football field and spread imagery of the spectacle online will face administrative "justice" this week, the school's principal said, Report informs referring to NBC News.

A photo of the swastika, formed on-field last week, was shared through an anonymous tip line Wednesday night, before it spread online Thursday, sparking a probe, Branham High School Principal Beth Silbergeld said.

"We are responding in accordance with education code and our district's commitment to restorative justice," she said in a statement over the weekend. "The students who were involved are committed to taking accountability for the harm that was done."

The California Department of Education said it plans to offer "statewide resources" to Branham High School as it investigates and responds.

"We unequivocally condemn the use of any hate symbol such as a swastika on a school campus," department spokesperson Liz Sanders said in a statement Monday night.

Silbergeld said the school in San Jose, in the heart of California's Silicon Valley, informed police about the incident. NBC Bay Area noted that the photo was posted to social media with an antisemitic message.

San Jose police said officers responded Friday to a report of a "human swastika" created on campus. The matter, reported as a hate crime, was under investigation, the department said.

"People were just shocked to see that this is happening at their school, in broad daylight, students purposely doing this," Maya Bronicki, education director of Bay Area Jewish Coalition Education and Advocacy, told NBC Bay Area. "There was clear intentionality. The caption under the post itself was horrifying."

State Sen. Dave Cortese, a Democrat who represents the community where the high school is located, said in a statement Monday that the display was an act of hate.

"I am deeply disturbed by the discovery of the anti-Semitic 'human swastika' at Branham High School," he said. "Acts of hatred-no matter where they occur-have a profound impact on our young people, our families, and our broader community. There is absolutely no place for anti-Semitism, or any form of bigotry, in our schools or in our society."

Silbergeld said administrators are prohibited by law from discussing details of student discipline. The number of participants was unknown.