MIDDLEBURG, Fla. — Residents in Clay County are reporting finding racist flyers distributed throughout their neighborhoods.
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Pamela Rese said she has never seen racist flyers like these found on people’s driveways along Lake Asbury Drive in Middleburg in the 30 years she has lived here.
“It’s unacceptable,” said Rese. “I don’t know why they are targeting this neighborhood. It just makes me a little unnerved.”
Action News Jax spotted many of them dropped on people’s driveways Monday morning. While Rese supports free speech, she says these racially charged flyers cross the line.
“I don’t view that as free speech because it’s hate. It’s obviously hate speech,” said Rese.
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The anti-defamation league says there has been a 50% increase of anti-Semitic incidents in Florida over the past year, rising from 127 to 190. Additionally, it has reported more than 400 instances of white supremacist propaganda distributed across the state from January 2020 to August 2022.
The ADL has H.E.A.T. map detailing specific incidents. Jacksonville has a total of eight incidents while Middleburg, St. John’s, Ponte Vedra and Palatka all have one each.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center for 2021, six groups in Jacksonville are considered hate groups, including proud boys, 53 throughout Florida.
Meanwhile, Clay County Sheriff Michelle Cook took to Facebook to condemn the flyers and said her deputies are investigating.
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