About 150 West Palm Beach homes targeted with antisemitic messaging in one night, one of multiple incidents in recent weeks

MONTH. BUT FIRST, AT 11, MORE THAN 100 HOMES TARGETED BY ANTI SEMITIC MESSAGES IN JUST THE LAST 24 HOURS. THESE HATEFUL ACTS CONTINUE TO INCREASE THROUGHOUT OUR AREA AND OUR STATE. GOOD EVENING. THANKS FOR JOINING US. I’M JADE JARVIS TAR. J.K. JOINS US FROM THE WEST PALM BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT WITH MORE ON WHAT POLICE ARE SAYING ABOUT THE INVESTIGATION INTO THIS ANTI-SEMITIC MATERIAL. TWO SEPARATE ANTI-SEMITIC INCIDENTS TOOK PLACE NOT FAR FROM HERE. THE WEST PALM BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT SATURDAY NIGHT. THE FIRST ONE WAS OVER THE BRIDGE IN PALM BEACH. THE SECOND WAS HERE IN WEST PALM BEACH IN A RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE POLICE SAY THEY’RE NOW LOOKING FOR THE FOUR PEOPLE INVOLVED. IT ALL STARTED WHEN JUST BEFORE 9 A.M. SUNDAY, A RESIDENT FLAGGED DOWN A WEST PALM BEACH POLICE OFFICER NEAR THE 4900 BLOCK OF NORTH FLAGLER DRIVE AND TOLD THE OFFICER THAT THERE WAS A PACKET. THEY DIDN’T KNOW WHAT WAS IN IT. UPON FURTHER INVESTIGATION, POLICE FOUND THESE VARIOUS FLIERS WITH MESSAGES OF HATE THROWN THROUGHOUT THE NORTHEAST SECTION OF THE CITY AND ABOUT 150 HOMES IN THE NORTHEAST SECTION OF WEST PALM BEACH HAD RECEIVED THESE HATE FLIERS IN LIKE A ZIPLOC BAG WITH EITHER ANIMAL FOOD OR PELLETS, WOOD PELLETS INSIDE. POLICE SAY THIS RING CAMERA VIDEO CAUGHT THEM IN THE ACT. IN IT, YOU SEE A WHITE PICKUP TRUCK PASS BY THIS HOUSE WITH PEOPLE IN THE BED THAT THROW SOMETHING ONTO THE FRONT LAWN. WITNESSES SAID THERE WERE THREE MEN AND A WOMAN, ALL WHITE, THAT WERE IN THIS U-HAUL SPREADING THESE PAMPHLETS JUST AN HOUR EARLIER, AROUND 5 P.M. ON PALM BEACH. THIS FLIER WAS FOUND ACROSS A WHITE RESIDENTIAL AREA, PALM BEACH POLICE TELLING US THEY CAUGHT THOSE RESPONSIBLE AND ISSUED THE FOUR MEN CITATIONS FOR LITTERING. NONE OF THEM WERE EVEN FROM THE STATE OF FLORIDA. WEST PALM BEACH POLICE ARE ASKING THAT PEOPLE TAKE A LOOK AT THAT VIDEO AND IF THEY RECOGNIZE ANYBODY IN THAT U-HAUL, YOU’RE ASKED TO CALL WEST PALM BEACH POLICE. IN WEST PA

West Palm Beach police said Sunday that about 150 homes in the northeast section of the city received hate flyers in zip plastic bags overnight. Officials say the suspects are three men and a woman who were in a flatbed truck throwing the packages, which included animal food or wooden pellets. They started tossing them on front lawns around 6 p.m. Saturday.Online attacks: Spike in antisemitic speech and harassment in multiplayer video games onlineOfficers walked the area retrieving the bags from the yards, and took them into evidence. Also Saturday, the Town of Palm Beach police issued littering citations to four people from out-of-state for throwing identical plastic bags onto people's property. Captain Will Rothrock said the bags were thrown in a fairly wide swath of the town, but the citations were given near Dunbar and North County roads. Rothrock confirmed via email to WPBF 25 News that the litterers are from Pennsylvania, Indiana, California and Maryland. The plastic bags also resemble materials that were tossed earlier this month on Lake Worth Beach driveways. On Jan 14, antisemitic flyers were left on yards in various Boca Raton neighborhoods and on Jan. 18, Florida Atlantic University condemned antisemitic messaging found on their campus.Separate from the physical materials, antisemitic messages, including a swastika, were also projected onto an AT&T building in West Palm Beach on Jan 15. 'Scared to leave my house': Lake Worth woman describes antisemitic flyers in front of homePalm Beach County officials held a roundtable Tuesday to address the hate symbols. The county's mayor, Gregg Weiss, told WPBF 25 News reporter Sooji Nam Tuesday that these offenses are not done by locals. "These people are not coming from Palm Beach County. They’re coming from outside of Palm Beach County to bring their hate to us. And we are a diverse, peaceful, loving community, welcoming community, but we don’t welcome their hate," Weiss said.In response to the uptick in hate crimes, Republican Representative Mike Caruso of District 87 filed new legislation Thursday that would enhance penalties for them."We mean 'never again'": Rep. Caruso files new hate crime billRothrock is encouraging Palm Beach residents who want to report antisemitic materials found on their property this weekend to call the non-emergency police line: (561-838-5454). Both Palm Beach and West Palm Beach police departments are investigating the incidents.Related: 'Keep our beat on the pulse with this issue': First-ever real-time database monitors online antisemitism

PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. —

West Palm Beach police said Sunday that about 150 homes in the northeast section of the city received hate flyers in zip plastic bags overnight.

Officials say the suspects are three men and a woman who were in a flatbed truck throwing the packages, which included animal food or wooden pellets. They started tossing them on front lawns around 6 p.m. Saturday.

Online attacks: Spike in antisemitic speech and harassment in multiplayer video games online

Officers walked the area retrieving the bags from the yards, and took them into evidence.

Also Saturday, the Town of Palm Beach police issued littering citations to four people from out-of-state for throwing identical plastic bags onto people's property.

Captain Will Rothrock said the bags were thrown in a fairly wide swath of the town, but the citations were given near Dunbar and North County roads.

Rothrock confirmed via email to WPBF 25 News that the litterers are from Pennsylvania, Indiana, California and Maryland.

The plastic bags also resemble materials that were tossed earlier this month on Lake Worth Beach driveways. On Jan 14, antisemitic flyers were left on yards in various Boca Raton neighborhoods and on Jan. 18, Florida Atlantic University condemned antisemitic messaging found on their campus.

Separate from the physical materials, antisemitic messages, including a swastika, were also projected onto an AT&T building in West Palm Beach on Jan 15.

'Scared to leave my house': Lake Worth woman describes antisemitic flyers in front of home

Palm Beach County officials held a roundtable Tuesday to address the hate symbols. The county's mayor, Gregg Weiss, told WPBF 25 News reporter Sooji Nam Tuesday that these offenses are not done by locals.

"These people are not coming from Palm Beach County. They’re coming from outside of Palm Beach County to bring their hate to us. And we are a diverse, peaceful, loving community, welcoming community, but we don’t welcome their hate," Weiss said.

In response to the uptick in hate crimes, Republican Representative Mike Caruso of District 87 filed new legislation Thursday that would enhance penalties for them.

"We mean 'never again'": Rep. Caruso files new hate crime bill

Rothrock is encouraging Palm Beach residents who want to report antisemitic materials found on their property this weekend to call the non-emergency police line: (561-838-5454). Both Palm Beach and West Palm Beach police departments are investigating the incidents.

About 150 West Palm Beach homes targeted with antisemitic messaging in one night, one of multiple incidents in recent weeks

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