FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Residents in a Fort Lauderdale neighborhood found the same antisemitic flyers that were spotted in Miami Beach and Surfside this past weekend, police said.
Alan Tinter, who lives in Fort Lauderdale’s Coral Ridge neighborhood, said he noticed clear packets outside homes, Sunday.
“Yesterday morning, while walking the dog, I noticed in the driveways small little packets, like sandwich bags,” he said. “I noticed that those little sandwich bags were in almost everybody’s driveway along this street.”
Inside those bags, residents found flyers listing inaccurate claims about Jewish people and COVID-19.
“Telling me everyone at the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] is Jewish. Not true,” said Tinter, “and comparing what’s going on today with what was said in the protocols used by the Nazis to justify their attack of the Jews as well.”
Surveillance video showed someone dropping off the same flyers from a van in Miami Beach, early Sunday morning.
Miami Beach Police said they believe they have identified the van. They believe that it’s a rental and no longer in the area.
The flyers left residents in Miami Beach and Surfside concerned for their safety.
“It’s a hate crime. I think it’s a hate crime,” said a resident.
Even more disturbing, residents said, is what’s written on the back of the flyers.
“One of the things they say is to ‘sacrifice people, including Jews, sometimes when necessary,’” said a resident. “I mean, that is, to me, that’s hate speech.”
Local leaders said a full investigation is currently underway.
“We want to make it clear to people that there’s no room for this,” said Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber. “It’s just horrible, and we’re not going to just sit around and let it happen.”
“Whatever evidence we can find that allows us to find that crime, that even meets that terrible feeling and sense of hatred in Florida law, we will utilize it,” said Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle.
Monday night, the Jewish Federation of Broward County issued a statement that reads in part, “The Jewish Federation of Broward County condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the distribution of anti-Semitic propaganda … Because Broward County is home to the third largest population of Holocaust survivors in the world, we are acutely aware of what happens when hate is allowed to thrive unfettered and unchallenged.”
Tinter said similar flyers were distributed in his neighborhood last spring. For him and other Coral Ridge residents, there’s just no place for it, anywhere.
“I’ve never had it hit quite so right at home, right in my driveway,” said Tinter.
“I’m not Jewish, and I find it offensive. I don’t believe in hating people,” said another resident.
If you received one of these flyers or have any information that could help police, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS or Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.