- April 26, 2024
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Antisemitic flyers accusing the Jewish community of being behind “the COVID agenda” were distributed by unknown persons to homes on Riverside Drive on Monday, Feb. 21, according to Ormond Beach Police.
An incident report details that a resident called police around 9:40 a.m. after he spotted a suspicious vehicle while walking his dog. The witness said that the driver of the vehicle, a silver Jaguar convertible “with a loud exhaust,” kept stopping and revving his engine, reversing and then driving forward again. The witness thought this was odd behavior, as Riverside Drive is a one-way street and the driver and passenger, described as a Black man and woman, didn’t park or pull into anyone’s driveway.
No one police spoke with saw the pair throw the flyers, encased in plastic bags and weighed down with rice.
“It’s hurtful,” Ormond Beach Police Chief Jesse Godfrey said. “And it makes me sad, not only as a police chief, but as a human being that we have this small segment of our society that wants to spread their hate.”
The flyers, which Godfrey said have also been delivered to homes around John Anderson Drive, claim that “Every single Aspect of the COVID agenda is Jewish,” and lists names of people who hold leadership positions within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other medical and pharmaceutical organizations, stating they were all of Jewish faith and “celebrating their role in COVID.”
The bottom of the flyer read “These flyers were distributed randomly without malicious intent,” and includes a QR code for an antisemitic video platform website run by the Goyim Defense League, “a loose network of individuals connected by their virulent antisemitism,” according to the Anti-Defamation League.
The ADL website states that the organization “espouses vitriolic antisemitism and white supremacist themes via the internet, through propaganda distributions and in street actions,” and that they engage in antisemitic stunts and schemes to “troll” or harass Jews.
Unfortunately, Godfrey said there are no laws to address the people spreading the flyers because they are protected by the First Amendment. But, he said OBPD is communicating with other law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, and said they are doing everything possible to hold the individuals accountable, but that there are no direct threats at this time.
The chief said he didn’t want to give the hate speech organization more publicity, as that would give them the illusion of power to make an impact.
“We just have to hold steady as a community and not buy into this hate propaganda,” he said.
One resident wrote an email to elected officials about the flyers, calling it a “most disturbing situation.” Laurel Robinson wrote that she was reaching out to draw their attention to them.
“As democratically-elected officials sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States, and those who seek this office, I call on you to condemn these distributors who flout freedom of speech to promote a vicious cycle of hate.”
This is not the first antisemitic incident in the city of Ormond Beach in the recent months.
In December 2021, two men were arrested for a series of vandalism acts consisting of stickers with antisemitic content placed in several areas of Ormond Beach. The city reported over $2,000 in damages and labor.
Both men were released on bail.
The Marine Science Center is temporarily halting all sick and injured bird intakes after receiving three birds that tested positive for avian influenza last week, a Volusia County press release stated.
The birds — two royal terns and one lesser scaup — were euthanized. There is a low risk of transmission to humans and, to date, there have been no known human infections in North America. Still, the Marine Science Center has closed its avian areas to the public until further notice.
“This was a difficult decision, but we had to take these steps to protect our current resident and patient birds,” said Chad Macfie, manager of the Marine Science Center. “We’re also ramping up our cleaning and safety protocols to help prevent the introduction of the virus into our facility.”
The center currently houses 18 permanent birds and 18 which are undergoing treatment and rehabilitation.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission advises the public against handling sick or dead wildlife and to prohibit the contact of domestic birds with wild birds.
The Ormond Beach Police Explorers is conducting a fundraiser to help raise funds for the program, which recruits teens between 14 and 18 years old who are interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement.
The fundraiser, conducted through TeamWorks, has a goal to raise $10,000. Visit https://bit.ly/3Igy8By
The city of Ormond Beach recently announced that it had received a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States.
The city announced on its Facebook page that this is the 28th consecutive year it has received the award.
