Volusia County Sees Anti-Semitic Demonstrations Over Weekend

Multiple areas in Central Florida recently have seen an uptick in anti-Semitic demonstrations and reading material in the last week, multiple sources have reported. The outreach has ranged from the passive, like flyers being left in residents’ driveways, to the especially visible, such as the banners displayed on the pedestrian bridge at Daytona International Speedway over the weekend. It’s not entirely clear what’s caused the hate groupe to increase their presence as of late, but it’s not an unprecedented sight in Volusia County by any means. Multiple similar incidents occurred in 2022, most attributed to antisemitic groups and white supremacist organizations. The banners flown across from the speedway displayed two messages: “Henry Ford was right about the Jews” and “Communism is Jewish”. The former message refers to American automaker Henry Ford, known for his antisemitic views. The Daytona Beach Police Department addressed the displays at the speedway, releasing the following statement: “There was an influx of First Amendment Auditors in town displaying anti-Semitic messages from the top of the pedestrian bridge on [International Speedway Blvd]. They attempted to bait the officers of the Daytona Beach Police Department into violating their rights in hopes of acquiring justification for a law suit against us. The Daytona Beach Police Department remained and will continue to remain professional through their encounters with them while they exercised their First Amendment rights.” Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood also weighed in, addressing a number of anti-Semitic pamphlets left in the county over the weekend. He called the distributors ‘cowardly scumbags’, and said the acts were ‘reprehensible’ and ‘disgusting’. Like the DBPD, he did add the caveat that the actions of the groups were protected free speech. Port Orange Mayor Don Burnette joined in condemning it, saying “the individuals responsible will gain no joy here in promoting their messages of racism, fear, hate, and division in our community”.