Houston-area neighborhood wakes up to White supremacist flyers on cars, front doors; authorities now investigating
(CNN)A community in Northwest Harris County woke up Sunday morning to White supremacist flyers on their car windshields and even on the front doors of their homes, according to William White, director of operations at the Houston chapter of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
“This is horrifying,” White told CNN by phone.
The title of the flyer is, “2026: A Race Odyssey.” It goes on to say, “Think about it! At the current rate of decline, what will America’s major cities look like in ten years?” The center of the flyer has a racist caricature depicting African Americans in negative racial stereotypes. The flyer then provides a web address for recipients to follow.
CNN is choosing not to show the flyers because they are racist and offensive in nature.
“I do believe that this is about voter intimidation,” White said. “There’s no place for that in the city.”
February is Black History month and the next election, the primary, in Harris County is March 1, with early voting starting next Monday.
White says he is not disclosing the name of the impacted neighborhood for safety reasons, but says the community is very diverse. At least four residents received the flyers, per White, but he says some people might be afraid to come forward and report the act. And none of the residents, he says, are willing to talk to reporters; but one of them called his office to report the incident. CAIR Houston is investigating and hoping that home security cameras captured the perpetrators in the act of distributing the flyers.
White says he is working to gather more evidence to present to Harris County law enforcement and the FBI. And he hopes elected officials denounce the racist act.
In an email to CNN, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said deputies took an incident report from one resident, which would be forwarded to the office’s Homeland Security Bureau for further investigation.
The FBI is not confirming or denying an investigation is underway into this incident, but sent CNN the following statement:
“The FBI Houston Field Office is aware of the incident involving the distribution of white supremacist flyers in a Northwest Harris County neighborhood and we are in regular contact with local authorities. FBI policy prohibits confirming or denying an investigation. However, if during the local investigation, information becomes known of a potential federal civil rights violation, the FBI is prepared to investigate,” said the FBI Houston Field Office statement to CNN.
“The FBI is the lead investigative agency for criminal violations of federal civil rights statutes. In October 2021, FBI Houston launched our participation in a nationwide initiative that encourages the public to report allegations of hate crime to law enforcement,” the FBI statement went on to say.
This appears to be at least the second time the group targeted a neighborhood with White supremacist flyers in the Houston area. Last November, Telemundo Houston, a Spanish language network, reported that racist flyers, with the group’s logo, targeted a neighborhood of immigrants. Those flyers were titled: “Wake up, White America!”
“We are concerned about a recent flurry of extremist propaganda distributions in ADL’s Southwest Region. The racist flyers found recently in northwest Harris County are particularly vile and disgusting and it is understandable people who found them in their yards would be outraged and upset,” said ADL Southwest Regional Director Mark B. Toubin in a statement to CNN. “We applaud the good people who recognize the message in the flyers is hateful and wrong. The flyers are designed to attract attention to the individuals and organizations who disseminate them, and we appreciate those who reject the flyers and the disturbing message they contain.”
CNN’s Kacey Cherry contributed to this report.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/08/us/houston-white-supremacist-flyers/index.html
