SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office and the Sacramento Police Department are investigating after antisemitic and racist fliers were left around the county.
The police department tweeted Monday about the fliers, saying they’re in the process of gathering information on all the locations they were placed, which includes the River Park neighborhood in East Sacramento.
Police say they believe other neighborhoods received the fliers and it’s not just isolated to areas within the city limits.
"When I woke up this morning, I had texts and emails from community members, primarily in the north area, who had seen these disgusting flyers had been distributed in the area," said Willie Recht, CEO of the Jewish Federation.
Recht said some of the imagery he saw was hateful but also ridiculous.
"We know where things like this can go, so we take it very seriously," said Recht.
He said the fliers were found in front of two synagogues in the Arden area, Mosaic Law Congregation on Sierra Boulevard and Kenesset Israel Torah Center in Sacramento.
Both the sheriff's office and police department are investigating the fliers, but according to sheriff's spokesperson Sgt. Amar Gandhi, law enforcement could be dealing with protected speech.
"I know it's going to anger a lot of people because again, you, I and most other people are going to look at that and go, 'Yeah, how is this not a crime?' But again, people have to understand people have that constitutional right to feel how they feel and voice those opinions," said Gandhi.
However, the concern is that hate speech can lead to threats or actual violence.
"While they are ridiculous, while they are almost a waste of time, honestly, we can’t treat it that way, and we take it very seriously," said Recht.
Anyone with information that can help the investigation can call Sacramento PD dispatch at 916-808-5471. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.
