U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff condemned the antisemitic flyers dropped on Athens residents’ doorsteps two weeks ago, joining the ranks of local officials and faith leaders who’ve also condemned the flyers.
Flagpole reported last month that Cobbham, Boulevard, and Normaltown residents found the antisemitic literature bagged in their driveways the morning of Feb. 27. They were also found in the Newtown and Chicopee-Dudley neighborhoods, according to the Athens Banner-Herald. A UGA political science professor told Flagpole they were most likely the work of a relatively small and unorganized group called the Goyim Defense League.
NGO StopAntisemitism, a grassroots watchdog organization combating antisemitism, has been tracking the white supremacist group, the Goyim Defense League. The league’s leader, Jon Minadeo II, was recently cited in Florida for littering antisemitic material to the residents of West Palm Beach. Florida recently advanced a bill that makes it illegal to litter antisemitic flyers into people’s yards.
Under the new legislation, those caught distributing antisemitic flyers like GDL has over the past nearly 5 years will be charged with a felony.
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) March 9, 2023
More on HB269 here: https://t.co/z74LbBnWN3
“Athens’ Jewish community will not be intimidated by cowardly acts of hate. I condemn in the strongest terms recent despicable attempts to sow fear and division with hateful flyers delivered to families across Athens. Georgians are united in our rejection of bigotry,” Ossoff, who is Georgia’s first Jewish senator, said in a statement Tuesday.
A group of Athens faith leaders also recently wrote an open letter expressing their support for the Jewish people.
Mayor Kelly Girtz said Mar. 1 that the incidents were under investigation. However, it’s unlikely a crime occurred. Dunwoody police said last month that such literature is protected by the First Amendment.