ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — Residents in a St. Petersburg neighborhood reported that antisemitic flyers were left in their local book exchange boxes.
A Jewish resident of the Old Northeast neighborhood of St. Petersburg emailed photos of the flyers to 8 On Your Side Sunday, saying that someone left the documents in a neighbor’s Little Free Library box.
“She was, of course, horrified,” the resident said. “She told me other neighbors with similar LFL boxes were stuffed as well.”
The flyers, which we will not show in our story due to their hateful and graphic nature, made various antisemitic claims about prominent Jewish figures in sports and media, as well as Judaism itself.
“The photos are disturbing, but I believe it is newsworthy since many people don’t think that antisemitism exists or is a problem,” the resident told 8 On Your Side.
A spokeswoman with St. Petersburg police spoke to 8 On Your Side via telephone and confirmed the existence of the fliers, saying officers removed the documents from homes in the area of 13th and 14th Avenue.
However, because the flyers did not make any threats nor was any property damaged, police said their placement technically falls under the First Amendment.
St. Petersburg police said they will have directed patrols in the area as a precaution.
This is not the first time such materials have been left in neighborhoods in the Tampa Bay area. Last summer, such flyers were left in Hyde Park and South Tampa.