More than 150 pieces of anti-Semitic propaganda strewn throughout Watertown, police say
At least 50 anti-Semitic flyers have been recovered by the Watertown Police Department and more than double that total have been found by citizens in town since Monday morning, according to information from police.
Around 7 a.m. Monday, the police department was alerted to bags of rice with anti-Semitic propaganda inside strewn throughout neighborhoods in Watertown. The bags were thrown along streets and into driveways, according to police.
Patrol Sgt. Scott Price of the Watertown Police Department said that this is the first time he has ever encountered anything like this in Watertown.
Depending on what is learned, violators could be charged with littering or a possible hate crime, Price said. There were no suspects as of Tuesday morning.
“This was unexpected and very much out of the blue. There are no notes (on the flyer) indicating who was responsible or what the purpose of this is,” he said.
People who find the flyers should call the police department at 605-882-6210.
The text of South Dakota's hate law crime follows.
No person may maliciously and with the specific intent to intimidate or harass any person or specific group of persons because of that person's or group of persons' race, ethnicity, religion, ancestry or national origin:
Cause physical injury to another person.
Deface any real or personal property of another person.
Damage or destroy any real or personal property of another person.
Or threaten, by word or act, to do the acts prohibited if there is reasonable cause to believe that any of the acts prohibited in subsections 1, 2 or 3 will occur.
This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: 150 pieces of anti-Semitic propaganda strewn throughout Watertown
