Horry County, SC – Several Carolina Forest neighborhoods woke up to antisemitic flyers lying in their driveways Friday morning.
The Ziploc bags were filled with rice and contained antisemitic propaganda.
People from the West Ridge neighborhood off Singleton Ridge Road and Oakmont Village on River Oaks Drive reached out to the ABC15 newsroom with their concerns.
Horry County police released a statement:
“HCPD is aware of a number of anti-Jewish flyers being circulated nationwide, which typically cite conspiracy theories related to Jewish government officials and business persons.
The notes have been found in South Carolina, folded up in plastic zipper bags and often weighted down with food items, including hard candies, rice, and beans.
There is currently no indication of a direct local threat related to the flyers.
That said, hate has no place in Horry County, and we are committed to keeping our community safe and informed.
Officers, locally and nationally, are looking into the placement of the flyers and conferring with other relevant agencies on the matter.
If a note is found in your community, please place it in the trash.
As the department is already aware of the flyers, neighbors need not file individual police reports for found flyers.
We recognize that similar conspiracy theories may be circulating online, particularly on social media platforms. If you see a post on social media in any way encouraging discrimination or violence, we encourage you to use the website or phone app ‘Report’ tools to make the social media platform aware.”
This is not the first time antisemitic flyers were dispersed in our community, but as of now, nothing has been done to stop it.
Bruce Hindsley lives in Oakmont Village- another neighborhood struck by antisemitic messages.
He said he’s disgusted that people would go out of their way to purposely attack someone just because of their religious beliefs.
“That’s exactly what they’re trying to do- spread chaos and hate and it’s very disturbing that there are people out there that are trying to create this kind of atmosphere,” he said.
The Anti-Defamation League’s 2021 report found that there’s been a 67% increase in hate crime incidents in South Carolina.
South Carolina is one of two states in the country that doesn’t have a hate crime bill.
Without the law, there isn’t much law enforcement can do about the messages.
South Carolina Rep. Carl Anderson is a supporter of instating a hate crime bill.
“I’m very passionate about this bill passing because I see it all the time. I see mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers, grandparents- crying because they have lost a loved one to a hate crime. If we had this bill, something could’ve been done,” he said.
Rep. Anderson said he’s been fighting for this bill to be passed for several years.
He said it died in Senate this year because 5 senators at the state house did not sign on.
“Without this bill, we are just looking to receive more people that would hate on other folks.”
If you receive a flyer you can submit an incident report on the county’s website. Click here.
