DETROIT — A group of demonstrators carrying Nazi flags appeared Saturday night outside a community theater performance of the "The Diary of Anne Frank" at an American Legion post in Livingston County.

Bobby Brite, past commander of the American Legion Devereaux Post 141, recorded video of the demonstrators who, he said, were present outside the Howell Township venue for about 30 minutes while the play, which documents the experiences of a young Jewish girl and her family during the Holocaust, was ongoing.

About 10 people were part of the pro-Nazi group that showed up in the legion's parking lot at about 7:30 p.m. and eventually moved across the street, Brite said. They were in their 20s and all wearing masks, Brite said.

At one point, they were chanting "Anne Frank was a whore," Brite said. Frank died at age 15 at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945.

"They are some of the most cowardly people I’ve ever met," said Brite, who was part of a contingent from the legion that interacted with the demonstrators.

Brite, 57, who's a veteran of the U.S. Army, said the demonstrators' actions were "absolutely disgusting.”

The Livingston County Sheriff's Office came to the scene as the demonstration was taking place, Brite said. A statement from the sheriff's office said the pro-Nazi group had been asked to leave the legion parking lot and did.

"The demonstrators then went across the street and waved flags adorned with Nazi insignia," the statement from the sheriff's office said. "A subject then approached them, and an argument ensued.

"Nothing physical transpired and ultimately the parties involved separated."

The Fowlerville Community Theatre put on "The Diary of Anne Frank" production Saturday night at the Howell American Legion post.

Brite said the legion allowed the play to be performed at the venue and said the history it detailed was tragic and shed light on the plight the Jewish community has endured.

The Saturday night performance was sold out and guests were made aware during intermission of the Nazi demonstrators outside, Brite said. However, the demonstrators left after being confronted and before the play was over, Brite said.

"They came to the wrong place," Brite said of the Nazi demonstrators appearing outside the legion post.

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