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Police scrutinized over new antisemitism law
The Oakland Police Department in Oakland, Florida is falling under scrutiny for the handling of an incident involving the distribution of antisemitic flyers. The city decided not to charge a man for allegedly placing the hateful flyers into yards but instead, let him go because they said it was not "intimidating" enough to meet the state standard.
OAKLAND, Fla. - The Oakland Police Department in Oakland, Florida is falling under scrutiny for the handling of an incident involving the distribution of antisemitic flyers. The city decided not to charge a man for allegedly placing the hateful flyers into yards but instead, let him go because they said it was not "intimidating" enough to meet the state standard.
Although, Florida State Rep. Randy Fine, R-Palm Bay, believes that the person responsible should have been charged under the law he wrote. Rep. Fine said the law, HB 269, was drafted specifically to combat situations like this.
"We passed the law. We expect you to use it," said Fine.
The alleged incident was captured on camera in a Winter Garden neighborhood. The person could be seen driving by a home and tossing a plastic bag onto a driveway before driving off. The baggy being weighed down by pellets had a message saying "WHITE LIVES MATTER" and a swastika.
"Can you tell me what the purpose of that flyer is? To put something that says, ‘WHITE LIVES MATTER’ and a swastika on the driveways of Black people or Jews, what is the purpose of that? Is it to inform? Is it to educate," asked Fine.
In April, HB 269 was passed by the Florida Legislature. It prohibits the distribution of hateful material and reclassifies those offenses. Under the law, someone passing out flyers targeting one’s religion or ethnicity can be charged with a misdemeanor. Fine says if the flyer contains a credible threat, it can become a felony charge.
The law also includes stricter charges for harassing people and projecting hate speech onto buildings like what was seen in Volusia County.
"I would employ their leadership to research house bill, 269 because they should’ve been charged," said Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood in response to the incident.
Oakland Police did stop the person they believed to be responsible for the act but choose not to charge the individual.
Chief Darron Esan told FOX 35 News in a statement that, "while the messages being sent were offensive to many, there were no attempts at intimidation or threats being made. Making an arrest in this situation would not have fit within the guidelines of state statute."
Although, some see this as just the start of more intimidation.
"When Jewish people see something like this it’s quite intimidating," said Rabbi Yosef Konikov. "There are the radicals and crazies that are watching this, and it only encourages them. Therefore, we need to take action, not so much with these cowards but to prevent the next guy from doing something else crazy."
Fine has requested an explanation from Chief Esan and the State Attorney as to why no charges were filed.
FOX 35 was told Chief Esan was not available for comment today and stands by his statement at the moment.