MARIETTA, Ga. — Antisemitic flyers were tossed into the yards of several subdivisions in the city of Marietta over the weekend.
Marietta police say they responded once they received a call about the flyers.
It’s unclear exactly who is responsible, police are still investigating.
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“This was a troubling situation that we watched unfold in other metro areas but it hadn’t happened to Marietta, so this was something new for our residents,” Chuck McPhilamy, who is the PIO for the Marietta Police Department, told Channel 2′s Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell.
Neighbors found the flyers inside of plastic baggies, weighted down with seeds.
The flyer centers around a lynching that happened in Marietta in 1915. The 108th anniversary of the lynching was on Aug. 17.
“This is a counter agency that’s saying that they believed in this particular case that this one individual was Jewish and was guilty of a crime and was lynched,” said McPhilamy.
Marietta police say neighbors called them, wondering what could be done about the problem.
“Not only are the flyers in your face just hate-filled, but they talk specifically about their own website of where you can go to get more information about them. If this a group who’s already preaching hate, then I definitely don’t want any residents trying to confront them. That’s a recipe for disaster just be a good witness,” McPhilamy told Channel 2 Action News.
Because this is considered freedom of speech, police can’t file criminal charges but they can charge those who are responsible with littering.
As mentioned by McPhilamy, similar incidents have unfolded across the metro Atlanta area in recent months, including in Dunwoody, Alpharetta, and other communities.
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