Approximately 30 anti-Semitic propaganda flyers that targeted Fairfax Country school board members were discovered last week in Fairfax Station, Virginia, police said.
The flyers denouncing the school board as “Jew-inspired” contained the logo of the Loyal White Knights, a group that is part of the Ku Klux Klan. The flyers stated that they had been distributed by the group, reported WTOP News.
According to the ADL, the Loyal White Knights is one of the largest and most active Klan groups in the US with over 100 members. Their traditional Klan beliefs are infused with neo-Nazi ideology. The group is based in Pelham, North Carolina.
The flyers sparked outrage from members of the school board who commented on the incident during a board meeting on Thursday.
“Those messages were targeted to all of us up here on this dais,” said Laura Cohen, Springfield District representative. “No matter where we come from, no matter what we look like, the hate was equally distributed to every one of us up here tonight.”
Guila Franklin Siegel, associate director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington (JCRC), issued a statement denouncing the flyers.
“We are horrified at this expression of hate and at the targeting of elected officials. We note the particular insidiousness of targeting a district that is represented by a Jewish school board member who has been subjected to anti-Semitic rhetoric on previous occasions,” she stated. “Our leaders should not have to endure threats of this kind and such virulent hate has no place in our community. The JCRC is committed to addressing the root causes of hatred and fighting for equity throughout our region.”
According to the ADL, the Loyal White Knights most common activity is the distribution of hate flyers, calling them “by far the most active fliering group” of all Klan groups.