The sheriff of Volusia County, Florida, Mike Chitwood, blasted a neo-Nazi group in an outraged speech in which he identified them as the source of hate crimes in the Daytona Beach area, admitting he will now be on their “hit list,” The Daily Beast reported.
Chitwood identified the hate group as the Goyim Defense League (GDL), accusing them of organizing antisemitic and racist incidents in his county, including distributing antisemitic flyers on doorsteps and driveways and hanging antisemitic banners from bridges during the Daytona 500 race.
"On Feb. 17, the GDL held a demonstration outside Chabad of South Orlando, harassing pedestrians and motorists, according to the Anti-Defamation League. The next day, members hung signs at the Daytona International Speedway with sayings such as, 'Henry Ford was right about the Jews.' They later projected antisemitic slogans on the outside of the track, with one reading, 'Hitler was right,’” he said, according to the news outlet.
GDL has been identified by the StopAntisemitism organization as the group behind numerous antisemitic flyer distributions across the United States.
“These scumbags came to the wrong county… We are not going to tolerate this. This is not about free speech. This is about violence,” Chitwood told reporters.
“Let’s take a look at these cowardly scumbags,” Chitwood said. He went on to read a list of arrests and charges against 15 GDL members in the county, including stalking, threatening a public official, aggravated assault, murder, terroristic threats, vandalism, and underage soliciting.
He added that he is now on GDL’s “hit list,” which he described as a “badge of honor.” He also dared the group to “put a bullet in the back of my head.”