Thornton, CO – Thornton residents in the Hunters Glenn neighborhood received white supremacist, antisemitic, anti-immigrant and homophobic flyers in their mailboxes the night of Nov. 8.
“I don’t want this in my neighborhood,” said Jeffrey Perkins.
Perkins said he found the letter in his mailbox on the morning of Election Day, Nov. 8, with no envelope or postage. His neighbors did as well.
Perkins, who identifies as white and has a Latino family, said he thought it was a targeted attack. Now, after confirmation from his neighbors receiving the letter, he doesn’t think it was targeted at his family.
The City of Thornton as well as city council have condemned the letter and do not wish to share it to prevent the spread of its message.
“It saddens me that someone thinks it’s okay to place something this hateful in mailboxes. Since that action is a federal offense, Thornton PD is working with the postal service,” said Mayor Jan Kulmann in a statement.
According to Community Relations Officer Joseph Walker, the incident report was entered on Nov. 10. He said the department is unsure of how many letters were put in mailboxes, but said residents should report them.
“I denounce all hate and the City of Thornton will not tolerate this behavior. The police chief has been notified and so has the Anti-Defamation League,” City Councilor Karen Bigelow said in a statement.
Perkins said he is mainly horrified and said most people in his community reject that rhetoric but said he thinks that angry minority is growing.
In light of the Colorado Springs mass shooting at Club Q, he thinks communities and the country are becoming less and less safe.
“We all are becoming a little less safe with each act of violence across the country,” he said.
Thornton released a statement on Facebook Nov. 17.
“This kind of hate speech goes against a core value of respect and inclusivity in Thornton. As this kind of hate speech is sometimes a precursor to violent behavior, we ask the community to be vigilant in reporting instances of hate speech to the Thornton PD by calling 720-977-5150 or 9-1-1 in an emergency,” the statement reads.
The letter, entitled “ ‘White’ Supremacy is Jewish Supremacy,” offers a so-called list of “Jews in High Positions of Power in America.” It also contains homophobic statements.
