Antisemitic, anti-vaccine flyers distributed in Denver-area neighborhoods
DENVER — During the weekend of January 22, residents in Denver, Arvada and Castle Rock woke up to what many of them described as appalling.
“Who gets up in the morning and decides to do something like this? Who plans their day around doing something so awful?” said a Denver Country Club resident who asked to remain anonymous.
Antisemitic and anti-vaccine flyers were left on various doorsteps and sidewalks, stored in plastic baggies and weighed down with rice. One flyer shows a picture of three women next to two QR codes and the words “Save Your Race.” The other one includes the message “Every single aspect of the COVID agenda is Jewish.”
Similar leaflets were also distributed in neighborhoods in Texas, Florida, California and Maryland.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) — an organization that tracks antisemitic assaults, vandalism and harassment nationally — believes a loose network of antisemitic individuals organized the flyer distribution. Police are investigating the incident.
According to the ADL, antisemitic incidents have gone up 12 percent in the last year, the highest number recorded in more than 40 years. The organization’s regional director in Denver, Scott Levin, told Rocky Mountains PBS Jewish people are already hyper vigilant after the hostage situation at the Texas synagogue on January 15.
“We’ve had several years of rising antisemitism and the message on these flyers isn’t necessarily new with them blaming Jewish people for things like COVID,” Levin said.
The American Jewish Committee, a global advocacy group, said that one in four Jewish people have experienced antisemitism in the last year. Levin said that’s the reason these flyers can’t be ignored.
“We don’t want to normalize hate. We don’t want to normalize antisemitism,” he said.
According to Levin, the most important thing to do is call the Denver Police’s non-emergency number (720-913-2000) when these incidents occur and speak out against them.
“Speaking out shows strength. We all need to stand up against this. Everyone, not just the Jewish community,” he added.
Residents in the communities where these flyers were distributed immediately called law enforcement. One man who asked to remain anonymous said his biggest concern is finding the people who did this.
“I don’t want to give them any sort of publicity other than making my neighborhood aware so they can be on the look out. They need to be found and be charged with the appropriate crimes,” he told Rocky Mountain PBS.
Arvada Police Detective David Snelling said several people turned in the flyers, which he hopes will help them find fingerprints and other physical evidence to help advance the investigation.
The Denver Police Department (DPD) told Rocky Mountain PBS in an email that the Bias Motivated Crime Unit is investigating the flyers and anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP (7867).
Dana Knowles is a multimedia journalist at Rocky Mountain PBS and can be reached at danaknowles@rmpbs.org.
