Elderly Man Suspected of Distrubuting Anti-Jewish Fliers in Montana Town
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(JTA) — A man in his 70s is believed to the person who distributed American Nazi Party fliers in residential neighborhoods of Missoula, Montana, police there said.
Mayor John Engen made the announcement during remarks at the Har Shalom synagogue on Tuesday as part of a news conference for an anti-hate campaign to show support for the Jewish community, the Billings Gazette reported.
The synagogue last month asked for extra police protection after finding the neo-Nazi literature, which accused Jews of controlling the media, in its neighborhood.
The unnamed man, who lives in an assisted living facility, is believed to have downloaded the propaganda and printed it himself. He has not been arrested, and police told the Gazette that they would speak to his family about his activities. Printing and distributing the fliers is not illegal, police said.
The fliers began appearing around town within 24 hours of the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president, the Montana Human Rights Network told the Gazette.
One of the fliers was titled “The Jewish Run Media,” which said that Jews brainwash the public through the media, inducing them to vote for corrupt politicians. The flier requested a $5 donation for an American Nazi Party information kit.
“The Jews’ purpose is to destroy us and our families from the inside out, slowly and gradually perverting us with their own special kind of poison,” according to the flier.
As part of the anti-hate campaign, titled Light in Every Window, Missoula residents have been asked to put a menorah in their windows to show support for the Jewish community in the wake of the distribution of the fliers.
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