UNIONTOWN, Ohio (WJW) — Police are trying to determine who left antisemitic fliers on random driveways in town and what, if any, crimes were committed by doing so.
A local couple — who FOX 8 News is not identifying — showed FOX 8 News a plastic sandwich bag they found on their driveway with feed corn and two fliers in it that had anti-Jewish messages as well as links to a website on which were posted antisemitic messages and symbols.
“It was a violation, a total violation of who we are and what we believe in,” they told FOX 8 News.
“Oh, this is definitely hate. This is definitely hate. There’s no doubt about that. I mean, look what they’ve put out. … There’s no doubt about it,” they added
The Anti-Defamation League told FOX 8 News the fliers are similar to ones that have been recently distributed in areas of southern Ohio, Cincinnati and parts of Kentucky
They include a message that says the fliers were “distributed randomly without malicious intent.”
“It can say that there is no malicious intent, but harm is being caused when people are finding these fliers in their driveways, on their front porches — and it doesn’t matter if they are Jewish or not,” said Kelly Fishman of the Cleveland Anti-Defamation League.
The FOX 8 I-Team recently reported on the arrest of a 22-year-old man in Sandusky who was doing a very similar thing, arguing with police that distributing fliers is not against the law.
Austin Rogers was charged with several crimes including ethnic intimidation.
Police in Uniontown on Wednesday conferred with prosecutors to determine what steps they can take.
The fliers left in Uniontown viewed as particularly caustic, given the current attacks that are taking place in Israel.
“Absolutely. Absolutely. You know, what’s happening globally — it’s happening to all of us,” the couple told FOX 8 News.
“And that’s what we need to see from our communities right now, people standing up and saying, ‘Hate is hate and it has no place.’ Because if we allow one group to be hated, if we allow one group to be attacked and ripped from their homes, then what is going to stop that hate from eventually coming for me?” said Fishman.
