LA MESA LA MESA — La Mesa and San Diego police are investigating after antisemitic flyers were discovered in the cities over the weekend.
In La Mesa, the material was distributed in plastic bags and found on driveways and in yards on Sunday. Police said it is the fifth such incident in the past 11 months.
Antisemitic flyers were first found distributed around La Mesa in June 2023. Similar discoveries were made in July, September and October, sometimes with as many as 50 flyers being discovered on car windows, said La Mesa police Lt. Katy Lynch. On Sunday more than a dozen flyers were found, she said.
San Diego police said residents also discovered similar flyers in the College Area this weekend. Over the past year or so, residents in San Carlos, Del Cerro and other communities have come across similar material. “We collected them and documented the incident, but it did not rise to the level of a crime,” a San Diego police spokesperson said.
Residents who find such material left on their car windows or in their neighborhoods are urged to notify law enforcement so the incidents can be documented.
“We do treat these very seriously,” Lynch said. “Even though it is considered protected speech, it is a hate incident. We want to evaluate each incident individually” to determine if it should be prosecuted as a hate crime.
“We want the public to know, if you see one of these flyers on your vehicle or left in a bag and left on your driveway, please let us know. We want to collect any potential evidence and we want to be aware of it and document it.”
Earlier this year, La Mesa had to grapple with antisemitic views being shared during a City Council meeting. In late February, the City Council voted to temporarily suspend public comments via Zoom after callers spouted antisemitic hate speech during a council meeting earlier in the month.
The city hosted a hate crimes forum in December with the county District Attorney’s Office. A similar forum may be organized again in the near future, Lynch said.
Assemblymember Chris Ward, D-San Diego, has authored a bill in hopes of tackling antisemitic flyers and other hateful materials. Ward has introduced AB 3024, known as the Stop Hate Littering Act, which would redefine distributing such material as hate littering — more serious than a hate incident but less serious than a hate crime.
If signed into law, the measure would allow victims to pursue a claim for up to $25,000 in penalties. The legislation is backed by San Diego City Councilmember Raul Campillo, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, and San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott, according to a press release issued by Ward’s office.
“These are not just pieces of paper with words,” Ward said in March. “These are deliberate, targeted attacks that are intended to harass and intimidate victims, dehumanizing them based on their religion, gender or sexual orientation, or other characteristic. They are being left on our windshields, in our driveways, and on our front doors. They have no place in our communities.”
Ward’s bill would expand the definition of “intimidation by threat of violence” under a current state law to include distribution of hateful materials without authorization for the purpose of terrorizing the owner or occupant of private property.
