WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A West Palm Beach neighborhood was hit by hate once again as several threats and antisemitic messages have been seen throughout the area over the past few months. Once again, residents are saying their community no longer has room for words of hate.
As they pulled into their driveway, Molly and her family were shocked to find this type of message in their yard.
“I think it’s just a violation of people’s property,” said Molly. “I think people just need to keep it away from people’s homes. This is their safe space.”
Other neighbors in the area echoed those same concerns.
“The stuff that was written about it in these little packages, it was disgusting, it was vile, and it was clearly antisemitic,” said a female resident.
Upwards of 100 flyers were thrown out in this West Palm Beach neighborhood, which once again contained a piece of paper and small brown pellets.
In addition to antisemitic messages, some of the papers specifically mentioned and expressed opposition to House Bill 269.
The aforementioned bill is being discussed by the Florida Legislature and aims to make certain antisemitic acts like these a hate crime.
“We certainly have no place for hate in West Palm Beach,” said West Palm Beach police Public Information Officer Mike Jachles.
West Palm Beach Police were able to track down five individuals responsible for throwing the flyers shortly after they left the neighborhood; three of them live in Florida.
“These are not nice people,” said Jachles.
Each person in the car was issued multiple citations, including littering and pedestrian violations.
“They started calling our officers’ different names, including our African American officers, using racial words,” said Jachles.
Although no arrests were made, police emphasized the importance of providing them with information. Each statement they receive from residents about unwanted material in their yard could be considered and additional littering violation.
“If they receive this and don’t know what to do, and they want us to pursue it, they can call the West Palm Beach Police non-emergency number,” said Jachles.
“I think it’s the responsibility of every citizen or resident to speak out about hate like this. Hate doesn’t have any place in this neighborhood,” said the female resident.
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