Dozens of bags containing anti-Semitic flyers and what may have been “rat poison” were found scattered around Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood Monday morning.
43rd Ward Alderman Timmy Knudsen said his office was alerted that the flyers had been spread in central Lincoln Park, near Geneva Terrace and Belden.
Knudsen said police had been notified as well as the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) as some of the flyers contained their logo.
“This is not the first time our ward has seen incidents like this. To the people who are spreading these flyers, I have a clear message: you are committing acts of hate,” Knudsen said. “My office, as well as the Chicago Police Department, will hold you accountable. Your threats against the Jewish community are repulsive, and vile, and will not be tolerated in our community.”
Chicago police told Fox News Digital that nine clear zip lock bags were also discovered on various vehicles and doorways in the 500 block of W. Belden.
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The ADL said it was “concerned by the presence of an unknown substance with the flyers.”
The organization said its Center on Extremism (COE) tracked a 30% increase in antisemitic propaganda in 2023, with Illinois ranking 11th for most incidents nationwide.
Antisemitism, meanwhile, has spiked in the U.S. and worldwide in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the war in the Gaza Strip.