Antisemitic flyers distributed in Shreveport neighborhoods over Christmas; activists speaking out

SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) - The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is speaking out after antisemitic flyers targeting Jewish people that were distributed in multiple Shreveport neighborhoods over the Christmas weekend.

The Shreveport Police Department says it’s aware of the situation. The department gave KSLA the following statement on Wednesday, Dec. 28:

“We do have two reports on file in the Broadmoor neighborhood back on December 11. We have communicated with our local synagogues and their security staff and made them aware. According to our detectives, this is happening nationally and the papers/flyers are the same or similar to others across the nation. We encourage our citizens to contact their local law enforcement agencies if they find any flyers on their property or in their mailbox.”

On Thursday, KSLA’s Tayler Davis spoke with a resident who received one of the flyers, and two teenagers who made it their mission to go around their neighborhood and pick up the flyers so nobody would have to see them.

Pam Carlise said this flyer was not the gift you would expect to see in your driveway or on top of your car on Christmas Day. Carlise is talking about antisemitic flyers that were distributed over the holiday.

“When I turned it over, it was shocking and sickening,” said Carlise.

They have been popping up over the last few weeks in several neighborhoods across Shreveport, including South Highlands, Broadmoor, and other areas.

“My sister and I went to go look and see how many there were, and we picked up like 50 at first,” Carlise said.

Another resident said they collected 183 bags filled with graphic pamphlets, some of the pages blaming Jewish people for the slave trade, abortion, and immigration.

“I’m sure that there are people that are worried about their safety, and I hate that for them. Whenever hatred is brewing in a community, that never makes for a comfortable, safe community for anyone really,” said a resident.

Carol Westbrook Patrick with the ADL says they received three reports about the issue in Shreveport.

“The primary tactic that they use is what you see there in Shreveport. It is distributing materials rooted in that are antisemitic to those of the Jewish faith,” explained Patrick.

Patrick says the group distributing the flyers is called the Goyim Defense League. She says they’re an antisemitic, white supremacist group.

ADL studies show that so far this year, 34 states have experienced more than 250 propaganda incidents committed by this group. Several states have had more incidents than others. Texas accounts for 27 of the incidents seen already this year.

“They are keen to staying within the rim of what is protected constitutionally. As [with] freedom of speech, of course you can have different opinions. You can have different belief systems outside of any local ordinances, such as littering outside or violating those local ordinances or laws. Just the distribution that expose hateful rhetoric is not criminal,” said Patrick.

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The ADL says from 2021 to 2022, the amount of propaganda distributed by the group more than doubled.

The Shreveport Police Department says their reports show the flyers started to appear in the Broadmoor neighborhood back on Dec. 11. They have reached out to local synagogues. They ask people to report any flyers found to the department.

The ADL is encouraging people to report antisemitic, biased, or discriminatory incidents online here.

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