Antisemitic flyers left at homes in San Rafael's West End neighborhood
SAN RAFAEL -- Police in San Rafael said Tuesday they were trying to determine who distributed antisemitic flyers outside residents' homes over the weekend.
San Rafael police said the department was alerted just after 6:45 p.m. Sunday about flyers placed in the driveways of several homes in the city's West End neighborhood downtown.
The flyers, found in enclosed plastic bags, made statements criticizing the Jewish community and spread antisemitic myths and conspiracy theories, police said.
Police said investigators were still determining whether the incident was a hate crime and trying to track down and review any video footage from residents' surveillance cameras.
"We've seen rising incidents of hate speech and hate crimes across our nation, directed at Jews as well as other minority groups. We know that such attacks come from a place of fear, of ignorance, and weakness," said Vice-Mayor Rachel Kertz in a prepared statement. "As a proud member of the Jewish community, I will stand united to demonstrate the strength of our collective resolve in favor of common decency, and against hate of any kind."
Police said members with information about this incident or any other incidents can contact the department at 415-485-3000 or at https://srpd.org/online-report#online_report.
The Marin District Attorney's Office has a webpage at https://www.marincountyda.org/hate-crime devoted to marking the differences between a hate crime and a hate incident. The office also has a Hate Crime Hotline, (415) 473-2585, which is monitored daily and has information in Spanish and English.