Beverly Hills Police Say No Crime Committed In Anti-Armenian Flyers

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — The Beverly Hills Police Department determined that anti-Armenian posters found in the city on Jan. 28 are protected by the First Amendment, authorities said Tuesday.

The department "launched an investigation" after more than 10 flyers containing anti-Armenian content were found on the morning on Jan. 28 around La Cienega and Wilshire boulevards, according to the department. The flyers were posted on polls.

Police were not able to identify who was responsible for posting the flyers, according to Lt. Giovanni Trejo, public information officer for the Beverly Hills Police Department.

"Although offensive and insensitive, it has been determined that the flyers fall within the protection of the First Amendment of the US Constitution," the department said in a tweet Tuesday.

Beverly Hills has seen many similar incidents recently, including anti-semitic flyers distributed around the city on four separate occasions since November. Most recently, around 25 antisemitic flyers were found in the north end of the city.

Police said the only similarity between the Jan. 28th and earlier flyers is the medium.

"The Police Department is committed to ensuring the safety and security of our community and does not condone or tolerate any hate speech directed at anyone, for any reason," the department said.

Many people took to social media to question the sincerity of the police department's condemnation without punitive action. The flyers contained hate speech, many argued, and should have been punished. One of the flyers contained the phrase "wipe Armenia off the map," KTLA reported.

According to the American Library Association, hate speech can only be criminalized under the First Amendment "when it incites imminent criminal activity or consists of specific threats of violence targeted against a person or group."

"How exactly are you guys committed? Your statement took DAYS, and the outcome of your commitment was ABSOLUTELY NOTHING," one wrote on Twitter.

"By not doing anything you are essentially condoning it," another wrote on Twitter.

The department is aware of community members' dissatisfaction and disagreement with its action, according to Trejo. But the department has found no evidence of any crime or violent action committed in connection with the flyers and, thus, was not able to make any arrests, he said.

"That doesn't mean that we take it lightly," Trejo said. He encouraged community members to report information connecting the flyers to any criminal action in the city.

Trejo pointed to a recent case when police made an arrest after someone vandalized a family's menorah display with a hate symbol. Police acted quickly and made an arrest because there was a specific crime committed, he said.