Residents in Westover Hills area are speaking out after finding antisemitic flyers in their neighborhood, less than two months after similar materials were distributed in Bon Air.
The flyers were most recently discovered by residents in Richmond on July 23rd. Jane Stone said she was out walking her dog that Saturday morning when she noticed something strange in her neighbors’ driveways.
“I started seeing the plastic baggies all in the neighborhood, and it was really random,” she said. “Most of my neighbors are absolutely disgusted.”
Stone said she took photos of the flyers, which were distributed in bags that also had rocks in them. The flyers noted that they had been distributed randomly and without malicious intent. But Stone said she was frightened by the imagery, which included the Star of David on the foreheads of various public officials, and propaganda equating gun control and immigration with Judaism.
“It was disgusting. It was gross,” she said. “I wish it didn’t happen anywhere, and especially wish it didn’t happen in my neighborhood. But it’s just sad to see.”
A spokesperson for the Richmond Police Department (RPD) said that authorities were aware of the incident and had taken a report.
The Jewish Community Federation of Richmond, a local nonprofit, issued a statement in the Westover Hills wake of the flyer distribution:
The Jewish Community Federation of Richmond and its Jewish Community Relations Committee (JCRC) strongly condemn the virulently antisemitic flyers distributed again recently in neighborhoods around Richmond. These flyers, distributed by a white supremacist group, perpetuate long-held falsities and stereotypes about the Jewish Community. Law enforcement is aware of the issue and is actively investigating the incidents. We are grateful to law enforcement for their swift response and the seriousness with which they are approaching the investigation.
This comes less than two months after similar flyers, also found in plastic bags with rocks, were distributed in Chesterfield County.