Residents of a subdivision in Hampton, Georgia, located about 35 miles south of Atlanta, woke up on Sunday morning to racially motivated flyers in its driveways.
A resident in the Legacy Lake subdivision posted a picture of the plastic bags that contained corn kernels and pieces of paper with a racist message written on them in bold letters. The slogans read, “Secure A White Future” and “Have More White Babies.”
According to WSBTV, a surveillance video from a resident’s home captured someone tossing them from an unidentified sedan.
“It’s really sad,” Shirley, a resident, said to local station WAGA. “I feel sorry for them, because you don’t want to take the time to do this, and you want to bother people. You want to hate on people. Why don’t you try love?”
Curtina, another resident, said she believed the messages were an attempt to promote white supremacy. The Hampton community recently experienced a mass shooting in the area that left four dead in July.
“We’ve been here ten years and have never encountered this, but to see it happen right now is just very surprising,” said another neighbor, who asked not to be named, to WAGA. “It just makes you want to keep an eye on your surroundings.”
Alex Cohilas, the city manager, confirmed that the city of Hampton is aware of the flyers and has launched an investigation to determine who is responsible.
“We are aware of the flyers left in driveways early Sunday morning. We are disgusted by the action of the person who did this,” Cohilas said to WAGA. “The views in the flyer does not represent the views and values of the city or its citizens. The flyer was disgusting and has no place in our society.”
The mayor’s office also released the following statement regarding the incident:
“The City of Hampton is disgusted by and condemns the actions of those responsible for the distribution of these hateful leaflets throughout our city. They are in no way representative of our city, our citizens, or our values. The Hampton Police Department, in conjunction with the Atlanta field office of the FBI is investigating this matter.”
Cohilas also added that it is too early to determine the charges a potential suspect or suspects could face.
