A Sunday morning stroll in Alameda turned up a few Swastika-adorned flyers clearly designed to intimidate the Muslim community, and just a few blocks from the Islamic Center of Alameda, as ABC 7 reports. This comes less than a week after the East Bay Times noted vandalism and busted windows and a nearby Alameda synagogue, and all this is happening as tensions are high as the Bay Area anticipates this weekend’s possible white nationalist rallies in both San Francisco and Berkeley (along with the expected counter-protests).
CBS 5 notes that a total of three flyers, each depicting an Islamic woman wearing a hijab along with a swastika and the words “Help me kill you stupid,” turned up on the streets of Alameda. Resident Neil Crawford found the first one on a Sunday morning stroll, then alerted Alameda Police after finding a second flyer that afternoon. Upon investigating, the police found a third flyer later that day.
In response, dozens of Alamedans gathered at the Islamic Center of Alameda Monday night in a show of support. “We've had a lot of these things happening and escalating, and I don't think that's OK," Alameda resident Christine Vauer told NBC Bay Area. "I don't think it's OK to ignore it. I think we have to stand up.”
KRON 4 got a statement from Alameda Police Department on the matter. “On August 20, 2017, APD received a call of suspicious flyers found on the sidewalk in the 1400 block of Sherman Street. The reporting party stated he found one flyer across the street from his residence at approximately 9:00 a.m. The reporting party did not report the incident to the police until he found a second flyer at approximately 3:45 p.m. near his residence on the sidewalk. The reporting party did not believe the flyers were intended for him. The responding officer located a third flyer on the sidewalk during the investigation. The flyers were approximately 3” by 5” depicting an illustration with a swastika that contained a hate message. This investigation is on-going.”
The investigation into the Temple Israel vandalism is also ongoing. The Alameda Police do have surveillance video of that incident, but have not released it as of yesterday.
Related: Santa Clara University Students Caught On Camera Painting Swastika With Their Own Blood