Ellicott City police officials said they’re looking into flyers containing hate speech and promoting Ku Klux Klan memberships that were found dispersed in the area of the Baltimore suburb on Saturday night.
Sherry Llewellyn, spokeswoman for Howard County Police Department, said the first flyer was found around 10:30 p.m. that night. Then authorities found 40 more flyers “dumped” along the side of the road.
“It appeared more like someone dumped them outside of a car window,” Llewellyn told the Baltimore Sun.
The flyers weren’t targeting a specific individual or business, but they do have hate speech directed towards Jews and immigrants plastered on them. The flyers were also found in other counties outside of Howard County. Llewellyn said police officials are asking for public help and for residents to come forward if they’ve seen the vehicle or culprit responsible for the handouts.
“We are asking that anyone with information contact us, particularly if they have doorbell cameras,” added Llewellyn.
Howard County Councilman Jon Weinstein and County Executive Allan H. Kittleman released a joint statement on their Facebook pages Sunday morning. They both condemned hateful acts and said they were “saddened and disturbed” by the flyers found in Ellicott City.
“There is no place for hate in our society and after all Ellicott City has been through in the past two years, it is heartbreaking to see this community faced with this disgusting display of antisemitism, racism and intolerance,” both county officials stated.
Howard County officials condemn KKK flyers found in Ellicott City, Maryland.(Facebook)
The incident follows after Black students of Goucher College held a protest on Friday in response to racist graffiti found inside a dorm building of the small liberal arts college in Towson, Maryland.
A Sun investigation reported that hate incidents across Maryland increased by 35 percent in 2017.
