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Southington residents react to racially charged flyers posted around town

SOUTHINGTON – Racially charged flyers have made its way to several towns in Connecticut. The newest case is in Southington now. Police are advising everyone to ...

SOUTHINGTON – Racially charged flyers have made its way to several towns in Connecticut. The newest case is in Southington now.

Police are advising everyone to bring the flyers to their department if they see one.

It all started when someone spotted a flyer at a stop sign last week. When police went to go check it out, they realized more of them were posted elsewhere.

Police said at the intersection of Jude Lane and Mt. Vernon Road and Brentwood Drive, a flyer that read “We founded this nation” along with an image of Abraham Lincoln and a family of three was found.

At the intersection of Beal Drive at Jude Lane, there was a flyer that read “Take Your Country Back” with a logo of something called the “White Whalers Book Club.” Police do not know what that group is and could not find anything online about it.

The posts have been shocking to longtime residents of Southington.

“Southington is an apple pie kind of a place,” said Linda Lindsay of Southington.

While Lindsay said she has not seen the flyers herself, she was shocked when FOX 61 showed her one of them.

“This country is just so negative and full of hatred and I would just want it to go back the way it used to be where neighbors were helping neighbors and it didn’t matter which country you came from originally,” added Lindsay.

This sentiment has been shared by others.

“It’s sad because this town has come together and everybody loves each other and it’s been a farm town. It’s sad that there’s people out there like this,” said Eric Symlon of Southington.

Southington is not alone. According to the Anti-Defamation League, a number of towns have been hit with similar flyers including Bristol and Norwalk.

Andy Frieland of ADL Connecticut said college campuses have become a popular place for people to post the flyers.

“It’s completely abhorrent and it’s something that we’ve seen unfortunately a fair amount of in the last couple of years,” said Frieland.

He said since September 2016, there have been 260 incidents reported, 173 on college campuses and 40 states affected. Since September 1st of this year, there have been 79 incidents on campuses alone.

“The overwhelming majority of people reject these kinds of ideas outright and honestly, to tell them to go back and take their ideas with them,” added Frieland.

Southington police are stressing if you spot any of the flyers, they encourage you to take them down and bring to the police department.

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