Anti-Semitic fliers left at homes and on cars in Montana city

Two fliers described by local media as anti-Semitic were placed in front of homes and on cars in Livingston, Montana.

One of the fliers discovered on Wednesday morning in the small southwestern Montana city read, “With Jews You Lose,” and showed a declining line graph representing the “value of a $1 federal reserve note in 1913 dollars,” the Livingston Enterprise reported.

That flier listed the website of a group called The Brother Nathanael Foundation, which is based in Priest River, Idaho, and is listed as a “General Hate” group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups.

A second flier featured a photo of the late John F. Kennedy and included an anti-Semitic quote falsely attributed to him, according to the newspaper. The fliers also referenced Israel, the Federal Reserve and kicking secret societies and Zionists out of the country, Livingston Police Chief Dale Johnson told the Enterprise.

At least one of the people who found a flyer outside their homes was Jewish, according to the paper. Livingston has a few dozen Jewish residents among its population of roughly 7,000.

The flyers were left even as Montanans are under a stay-at-home order because of the coronavirus pandemic. People who monitor anti-Semitism say graffiti and vandalism have not risen during the pandemic but that those incidents may have a deeper impact on local communities at a time when people are already fearful and isolated. An even greater worry, they said, is that online organizing among white supremacists could result in escalating anti-Semitic activity in the future.