Truck Displaying Antisemitic Messages Drives Through Beverly Hills

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — A truck displaying antisemitic messages drove through Beverly Hills and West Hollywood on Saturday — the most recent in a series of such incidents roiling the community in recent months.

Social media videos trace the vehicle passing through the city as the driver yelled slurs and hateful language at passersby. The videos also show the truck stopping at the Beverly Hilton hotel.

The truck displayed antisemitic language related to "the great replacement," a racist conspiracy theory often cited by white supremacists, according to the National Immigration Forum. It recently made national headlines after the person accused in the Buffalo mass shooting cited the theory in an online manifesto.

No arrests have been made, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The West Hollywood Sheriff's Station will monitor the incident "in case it rises to the level of a crime," according to the Sheriff's Department.

Mayor Lili Bosse said the city of Beverly Hills will do anything in its legal power to prevent a similar incident from occurring again. The city of Beverly Hills is no stranger to antisemitic events; in April, antisemitic flyers appeared around the city for the third time since November.

"The [Beverly Hills] Police Department has worked closely with the Anti-Defamation League and continues to do so," Keith Sterling, chief communications officer for Beverly Hills, said in an email to Patch. "BHPD is also reaching out to private businesses to educate them on how to obtain trespass letters or temporary restraining orders against individuals or groups that seek to harass or annoy their guests."

The city of Beverly Hills contacted the rental company of the truck to "make them aware of how their vehicles are being used by this group," Sterling said. The truck appeared to be a U-Haul truck, though most of the truck's identifying labels were covered up with signage.

Many Beverly Hills community members took to social media to immediately condemn Saturday's incident.

"I wish there were more words in the dictionary … to describe how disgusting and vile it was," Bosse said.

Despite the antisemitic intent, incidents like this only make the Beverly Hills community more unified and empowered to speak out and "drown out the hatred," Bosse said.

Bosse will address the incident at Tuesday's City Council meeting, accompanied by BHPD Chief Mark Stainbrook and City Attorney Larry Winer.

"As they speak and spew hate, we have to speak out and spew goodness and speak out against hatred. The last thing we can do is be silent … is be fearful," Bosse said.

Neighboring cities have consistently shown unity after events like Saturday's, Bosse said. The city of West Hollywood made a formal statement on Sunday.

"Hate has no place in the City of West Hollywood," West Hollywood officials said in the statement.