Probe Into White Supremacists' Anti-Semitic Post In South Orange

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — A probe is underway after a white supremacist group posted recruitment literature in South Orange, officials said.

The posters, stickers, and fliers were posted at the South Orange Train Station. A New Jersey-based white supremacist group distributed the "hateful," "racist," and "anti-Semitic," material, Village President Sheena Collum said in an open letter to the South Orange community Monday.

Collum did not name the group in her letter, but said in an email to a Patch reporter that the group was the New Jersey European Heritage Association (NJEHA).

Lisa Torbic, a New Jersey Transit spokesperson, said the New Jersey Transit Police Department is "actively investigating this in coordination with our law enforcement partners. This is an ongoing investigation."

The NJEHA shared photos of the posted materials on social media Monday. The materials say "reclaim America," "America belongs to Americans," "reclaim your nation," and "reclaim your heritage." The NJEHA did not respond to a request for comment.

"Such ugliness is intended to create fear and division among us and our community will not allow this to happen," Collum said. "On behalf of the Board of Trustees, we unequivocally condemn these messages of hate."

The South Orange Police Department declined to comment on the materials. They referred a Patch reporter to the New Jersey Transit Police Department.

The Anti-Defamation League states that the NJEHA is a small white supremacist group founded in 2018 whose members see themselves as defenders of white European people and white culture.

"Members hold the white supremacist worldview that unless immediate action is taken, the white race is doomed to extinction by a rising ride of color purportedly controlled and manipulated by Jews," the ADL's website states.

According to the NJEHA's website, the group's creed "can be summed up by fourteen simple words; we must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children." The group does not see the "current society as a healthy and cohesive environment suited for their children and grandchildren."

The NJEHA claims it is opposed to violence, instead seeking "peaceful political change through the education of the masses."

It is illegal to post signs on public property in South Orange. The group is being served a notice from the village that it will be subject a $1,000 fine for each infraction, Collum said. The village will continue to monitor and remove any unauthorized materials that violate the Village Code.

"We are, and will remain, more committed than ever to ensuring that South Orange continues to be an inclusive and welcoming community where everyone feels safe, valued, and celebrated for who they are," Collum said. "We appreciate our community's ongoing assistance in cleaning up the trash."

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com