White supremacist propaganda on the rise in Virginia as groups work to fight back against hateful messaging

Betty Ann Levin got a disturbing phone call Sunday morning.

Her neighbor told her antisemitic flyers had been distributed throughout their Virginia Beach community. Levin quickly went to investigate and found one in her driveway.

The flyers — which took aim at Jewish executives who work for Disney and included a web address that links to an antisemitic website — were left in driveways throughout several neighborhoods in Richmond and Virginia Beach during a recent July weekend.

Although some residents were shocked, it’s far from the only such incident in the commonwealth.

The Anti-Defamation League reports that Virginia had the nation’s second-highest number of incidents involving white supremacist propaganda last year. And it has steadily increased in the past few years. Advocates for equality and inclusion say because the hateful messages can lead to deadly consequences, the issue needs attention.

But they caution it should be addressed in a measured way that doesn’t unintentionally amplify the propaganda.

“For members of the Jewish community, it can make you feel very vulnerable and very targeted,” said Levin, executive vice president of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater. “The fact that in 2022 we are feeling this way and experiencing this is sad.”

Meredith Weisel, regional director for the ADL, said there’s been a nationwide rise in white supremacist propaganda in recent years targeting marginalized groups, including Jews and racial minorities.

Extremists have become emboldened in recent years, she said, likely because some in leadership roles now openly embrace or echo some of their views.

Weisel said it’s hard to say why Virginia specifically is seeing such an increase. But the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville may have been a factor.

Hundreds of white nationalists convened there in 2017 to protest the city’s plans to remove a confederate statue. The event garnered national attention after one of the white nationalists drove a car into a crowd of counter protestors, killing one and injuring dozens.

“Charlottesville definitely set off a pattern, so it is possible that hate has just continued to have a stronger presence since the Unite the Right rally,” Weisel said.

The ADL’s data found 376 incidents of white supremacist propaganda in Virginia in 2021, second only to Pennsylvania, which recorded 475 incidents last year. Texas came in third with 329. Virginia’s numbers were up from 249 in 2020 and 138 in 2019.

Pointing to a recent racially-motivated mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, Weisel said such propaganda should never be taken lightly.

“(The alleged shooter) believed a lot of the propaganda and misinformation that was out there and he acted out on that,” she said. “That’s why this stuff can be so dangerous; it’s not just a flyer that you can throw in the trash. You have to think about who may actually believe it and then act upon it.”

Jonathan Zur, president of the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities, said it can be challenging to collect reliable data on incidents related to hateful propaganda. Some in marginalized communities are afraid to report it because they fear it could make the situation worse, he explained.

But he said anecdotal evidence the center has received in recent years backs up the ADL’s findings.

Zur believes the pandemic and subsequent work-from-home culture are likely contributing factors, as isolated individuals are more vulnerable to extremist views.

Although ignoring the problem isn’t a solution, Zur said responses that give too much attention to the groups involved or to their messaging also is problematic.

“It’s a fine line,” he said, adding that many perpetrators likely are seeking attention.

Consistent exposure to diversity is one of the best ways to stomp out hate, Zur said. The center encourages groups and organizations to seek such connections, like a partnership between two different houses of worship.

“Folks are often not exposed to people of different religions or races or ethnicities; people often move into neighborhoods where they see others who look like them,” he said. “We need to make sure we are consistently providing education and exposure as an alternative to groups who are promoting fear-mongering that is not countered when we don’t have those living examples around us.”

Legislators also should frequently review and, if needed, update hate crime legislation, Zur said.

Although Levin was dismayed by the flyers, she said it was heartening to see the community’s response. She said neighbors of all faiths were upset and wanted to help.

Many local leaders, including Rep. Elaine Luria and Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer, also quickly stepped up to denounce antisemitic views.

“Everyone was angry and disturbed,” Levin said.

Hillary Wilson, president of the Middle Plantation Civic League, which represents one of the neighborhoods blanketed with flyers, said some league members are organizing an event next week to promote diversity and inclusion.

“They’re going to get a bunch of chalk and then kids can draw messages of love and support on our streets,” she said.

Wilson said she’s aware there are many “angry people in the world,” but the flyers still caught her off guard. The community is determined to make it clear that such messages are not welcome.

“Nothing like this had ever happened before here,” Wilson said. “It was upsetting because it doesn’t represent out neighborhood; it was shocking and its not who we are.”