LYNDHURST –
Fliers promoting the KKK have been distributed to several residents in the southwest section of Lyndhurst, according to township police.
Police Det. Capt. John Valente said last week that the department received about “half a dozen” reports about a handful of the fliers found dropped on residential driveways or front lawns along Forest Ave. and elsewhere during the weekend of Oct. 23-25.
The paper fliers were held down by rocks, he said. Mayor Robert Giangeruso condemned the literature as an example of “racism, hatred and bigotry,” adding that the township is “not going to tolerate it.”
Asked what, if anything, Lyndhurst can do about it, the mayor referred a reporter to police who, he suggested, were “investigating” the situation.
When asked if the police were pursuing the matter or possibly calling in the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office to check it out, Valente characterized the incident as someone exercising their “First Amendment right.”
“It’s not a hate crime,” he added.
Township Public Safety Commissioner John Montillo concurred, saying: “If a resident happens to find such a flier on their property, they can discard it like any other trash that may happen to wind up on their lawn.”
Or, Montillo said, if the resident prefers to notify the Police Department, “they can call the police desk and we will send someone to discard it for them.”
The flier, a copy of which was supplied to The Observer by police, is a recruitment initiative that portrays the a Klansman on horseback and proclaims, “Join The Klan And Save Our Land!!! Loyal White Knights of the KKK.” It lists a “Klan Hotline” with an area code for Reidsville, N.C., where the KKK has been active in recent years. It targets, in particular, Presidential candidate Jeb Bush for his immigration platform. It says America should “close the borders and save American jobs!” It also attacks policies supporting “busing,” “integration,” “race-mixing” and gays.
Rutherford experienced a similar situation in late December 2014, although in that case, there were reported to be hundreds of the fliers distributed on residential properties but borough Police Capt. Patrick Feliciano said there have been no repeat incidents. Because of First Amendment consideration, the police “treated it as littering,” he said. Police did call the number listed on those fliers – the same as listed on the fliers in Lyndhurst – and got a recording for the KKK organization, he said.
