By Dan Murphy
Westchester District Attorney Mimi Rocah joined with six, local Westchester Police Chiefs to stand opposed to the recent placement of white supremacist stickers in different communities across the county, and to seek information on those suspected of spreading the hate.
“An investigation has been launched by multiple law enforcement agencies in Westchester as they attempt to locate suspects who have been posting stickers that carry white nationalist and supremacist messages,” said DA Rocah in a joint statement with New Rochelle Deputy Police Commissioner Robert Gazzola, Scarsdale Police Chief Andrew Matturro, Sleepy Hollow Police Chief Anthony Bueti, Tarrytown Police Chief John Barbelet, White Plains Police Chief Joseph Castelli and Yorktown Police Chief Robert Noble.
“In recent weeks, the jurisdictions listed above have encountered a number of incidents in which stickers carrying white nationalist and white supremacist messages and promoting groups that support these beliefs have been placed in public spaces. These stickers were found in areas that are home to or frequented by racial and ethnic minorities. We strongly condemn these actions to the extent that they are intended to intimidate and cause fear in our communities.
“The Westchester County District Attorney’s Office and police departments around the county are working together to investigate these incidents and all incidents targeting people because of their race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or political beliefs. The perpetrators of one of these acts were caught on camera, and we are circulating images of them with this statement. If you have information about the identity of these persons, please contact the Sleepy Hollow Police Department Detective Division at 914-631-0300.
“The District Attorney’s Office and law enforcement agencies are committed to keeping our communities safe while also respecting the First Amendment rights of all Americans,” end of statement.
The stickers were placed before the attack on the Capitol in Washington DC on January 6. The stickers highlighted the white supremacist group the Patriot Front, and said “America First” and “Better dead than red” . Similar stickers have recently been found in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Thirteen different stickers were placed in the Village of Sleepy Hollow and it took volunteers ten hours to travel around the village to find and remove them. One of the stickers was placed outside the Sleepy Hollow Police Department, where video cameras are believed to have caught two of the persons involved
“No matter how small this seems in the criminal world of statutes, we take this seriously and are going to investigate it,” said Rocah.
According to The Anti-Defamation League, ADL, “Patriot Front is a white supremacist group whose members maintain that their ancestors conquered America and bequeathed it solely to them. Patriot Front espouses racism, anti-Semitism and intolerance under the guise of preserving the “ethnic and cultural origins” of their European ancestors. Patriot Front spreads their hateful propaganda via the Internet and by distributing banners, fliers, posters and stickers. They define themselves as American fascists or American nationalists who are focused on preserving America’s identity as a European-American identity.”
