GAINES TOWNSHIP, Mich. — No charges will be filed in connection to anti-Semitic flyers found scattered across a neighborhood in Gaines Township on Sunday.
Kent County Prosecutor Christopher Becker released an opinion Wednesday morning saying, "After a complete review of the submitted report, and reviewing the applicable law/ we are unable to file any criminal charges out of this incident."
On Sunday, March 5, plastic bags with antisemitic messages inside were tossed on people’s lawns in the Crystal Springs neighborhood.
Several people there told FOX 17 they were disgusted and threw them away immediately. However, they questioned why it would be in their neighborhood, which they described as being quiet, friendly, and multicultural.
The Kent County Sheriffs Office investigated the flyers after complaints by neighbors. Deputies contacted a person associated with the vehicle spotted driving through the neighborhood. The report turned over to the Prosecutor's Office requested two charges: ethnic intimidation and littering on private property.
But Becker says there is not backing for either charge.
"An individual commits the criminal offense of ethnic intimidation in Michigan if that person 'malidously, with specific intent to intimidate or harass a person because of their race/ color, religion/ gender or national origin' either (a) causes physica! contact with another person, (b) damages, destroys, or defaces property belonging to that person/ or (c) threatens to do either of the above with reasonable cause to believe that act would occur."
"When examining the facts of what occurred this weekend alongside the requirements of this statute we cannot prove ethnic intimidation occurred."
Becker went on to say there was no threat to damage property or cause physical harm to anyone. With so many homes receiving the flyer, Becker decided no one person was targeted by the papers either.
On the littering charge, the Prosecutor says the flyers don't fit the definition of "filth, garbage, or refuse" even if the message they contain may be considered garbage.
"Unlike an individual who drops a used candy bar wrapper on the property of another person, a person who distributes a flyer containing a message has not discarded "garbage" as the term is generally understood—even if the message contained therein is offensive or derogatory, as it was here." said Becker.
"Offensive speech without a true threat of unlawful action is protected under the First Amendment."
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said they weren’t surprised by this tactic. It’s how the group behind the flyers operates.
“I’m always concerned when anybody does anything that is antisemitic or hateful or bigoted in any way,” said the ADL’s Carolyn Normandin during a Zoom interview with FOX 17 on Tuesday. “This particular group typically focuses on propaganda. They’re trying to bring people into their brotherhood. They’re trying to bring people into their conspiracy theory.”
“It’s important to be concerned about it,” Normandin said. “These little baggies are often found by young children or teenagers who may not be able to even decipher what the message is, but they see symbols like the Star of David along with a terrible statement, and so I really feel like it’s something that people should take notice of.”
The state has taken notice of the antisemitism flyers. Michigan’s Attorney General Dana Nessel said the incidents in Gaines Township were "upsetting."
“More than anything, I think people should know that it's dangerous and it leads people to believing things that are obviously false,” Nessel said during a Zoom interview. “But, unfortunately, that sort of hate speech, can and does lead to hate crimes. And that's when it becomes an issue for us here at the Department of the Attorney General.”
According to the ADL, antisemitic incidents nationwide topped 2,000 incidents every year since 2019. Additionally, the American Jewish Committee Survey of American Jews stated that four out of ten Jews feel less safethan they did a year ago.
"I would not take from this decision that this behavior is always protected or approved of in any way." wrote Becker. "The flyers are reprehensible. However, I must follow the law and when examining these facts under the controlling legal principles, I am unable to find any appropriate criminal charges for the individual's conduct."
Read the full opinion here:
20230308085814792 by WXMI on Scribd
