Racist flyers distributed in Moses Lake

MOSES LAKE – Moses Lake Police Chief Kevin Fuhr verified Thursday afternoon reports that flyers promoting the Aryan Freedom Network and directing those who find the materials to a white supremacy website were recently distributed in Moses Lake.

“Last week and earlier this week, a group was dropping little flyers in a plastic baggie that had rice in it just to hold it down,” Fuhr said. “They were dropping them in neighborhoods and (the flyers said) basically, ‘Save the white race.’”

The home-printed flyers were found in sandwich bags with rice to weigh them down and keep them from blowing away, Fuhr said. While the content of the flyers may be offensive to many, it is protected under the First Amendment, limiting law enforcement’s ability to address the issue to enforcing littering violations. Flyers were also tossed out along the route for the Martin Luther King, Jr. march held in Moses Lake on Jan. 16, he said.

Fuhr said MLPD is interested in speaking with those who distributed the flyers in order to ensure they remain within the law. Additionally, he said the increased presence by MLPD at the scheduled Moses Lake basketball game on Friday was due to reports of racial slurs or comments being voiced toward the visiting teams and not in relation to the flyers being distributed in any way.

Fuhr added that rumors on social media regarding racial slurs or other propaganda being painted on residents’ driveways had not made it into any formal police complaints.

Fuhr said he was grateful that racism isn’t as prominent in the Moses Lake area as in prior communities he has worked in and this is the first time in more than six years at MLPD that he’s had to deal with an issue like the flyers being distributed.

Anyone with further information on the issue may contact MLPD at 509-764-3887.

R. Hans “Rob” Miller may be reached at editor@columbiabasinherald.com.