Huntington Beach police investigating antisemitic fliers found in neighborhood

Huntington Beach police are investigating after several residents woke up Tuesday morning to find fliers with antisemitic messages on their front lawns.

City spokeswoman Jennifer Carey said the fliers were found in front of about 15 homes, all within one stretch of street, in a neighborhood near Bushard Street and Hamilton Avenue.

“HBPD is investigating, and they’ve already reached out to every impacted resident,” Carey said Tuesday afternoon. “They’ve interviewed some and are waiting to hear back from others, but detectives are investigating. They’ve notified our Human Relations Committee, which works hand-in-hand with HBPD, as well as the County of Orange, in investigating potential hate crimes.”

The two-sided fliers include messages attaching Jewish members of the Biden administration to the COVID-19 pandemic and say that Jews are “celebrating their role in COVID.”

Mayor Barbara Delgleize said in a statement that the fliers’ messaging does not reflect the values or ideas of Huntington Beach.

“We have zero tolerance for hateful rhetoric or prejudice within our community,” Delgleize said. “I know that I speak for all of my fellow City Council members in condemning not only this flier but all instances of hate within our city.”

One Huntington Beach resident, who spoke anonymously for fear of retribution, said she found the flier in front of her house Tuesday morning. She said this is the first such incident in the 23 years she has lived there.

“I’m proud that my neighbors have rallied together to denounce these fliers, review their Ring and security cameras to identify any suspicious vehicles and piece together a timeline for when the fliers may have been distributed,” she said. “If anything, I think it has pulled our neighborhood together.”

This is the second time in less than a year that hate-speech fliers were found outside homes in the area. Ku Klux Klan propaganda was found outside homes in Newport Beach last March, around the time a “White Lives Matter” rally was said to be in the works at the Huntington Beach Pier.

Far-right leaders were seen in the crowd at the pier and several skirmishes developed, but the scene largely fizzled out as hundreds turned out in a counter-protest.

Huntington Beach police are asking anyone with information relating to this most recent incident to call (714) 960-8811.