Ohio neighborhood showered with flyers promoting white supremacy
Montgomery County Sheriff Rob Streck said it can be challenging to pursue charges for hate-speech handouts because distributing flyers is typically not a criminal offense.
Some Ohio residents woke up Sunday morning to find handouts with hate speech advocating white supremacy littering their neighborhood.
Montgomery County Sheriff Rob Streck reported that residents of a few streets in Washington Township discovered “little baggies” containing flyers with messages such as “We have to protect our white children” and “It’s okay to be white,” WHIO TV 7 reported.
“Even though it was random, and there was no certain groups targeted, it didn’t matter who was in the house; everybody got the same thing,” said Streck, “but it definitely is one of those things that is considered hate speech.”
According to Streck, distributing flyers is typically not a criminal offense. Therefore, he said, it can be challenging to pursue criminal charges when someone is simply disseminating material to the general public.
The sheriff pointed out that if authorities had suspects, they could be charged with a minor infraction, like littering. He said menacing or more severe charges could be added if the suspects admitted there was malicious intent.
Deputies have reportedly been knocking on doors, searching for Ring doorbell surveillance or video footage to find car license plates or descriptions of a suspect.
Streck stated that police, in collaboration with the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office, would pursue all criminal charges possible if there was evidence of a crime.
“It’s just sickening,” he added, WHIO reported, “that people were out throwing these around the neighborhoods.”
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