White Supremacist Hate Messaging Targets Berkeley Homes: Cops

BERKELEY, CA — A white supremacist group targeted the city of Berkeley over the weekend, blanketing hundreds of residences with hate messages, police said.

The group left plastic sandwich bags filled with anti-Semitic messaging on the doorsteps of homes in the north Berkeley hills that were found by many on Sunday morning, police said.

The Berkeley Police Department and City Council released a joint statement on Monday afternoon condemning the incident.

Police have not yet announced the arrests of any suspects in connection with the incident but said the case is being investigated as a hate crime.

Similar incidents have recently been reported in Marin and other California cities including Palo Alto, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Pasadena and Huntington Beach.

“As the center of the free-speech movement, Berkeley has always supported people’s rights under the first amendment. But let’s be clear - the Berkeley City Council and our community soundly reject and condemn ANY hate filled messages and any inference to discrimination of any kind to any person or group,” the joint statement said.

“To our Jewish neighbors, be assured that as a community, Berkeley will stand up together to reject anti-Semitic messages and all forms of hate speech. The Berkeley City Council stands united in our zero-tolerance position against all forms of hate speech in our city.

“The Berkeley Police Department recognizes the impact of hate incidents and stands with the council and the community united against hate. The department highly prioritizes hate-incident and hate-crime investigations and is actively investigating this case.”

Anyone with information or camera footage of this hate-incident is asked to call the Berkeley Police Department at (510) 981-5900.