NEENAH, WI (WTAQ) — A flyer being distributed in the Fox Valley with derogatory slurs and Nazi imagery is not what it appears to be, police say.
The flyer, distributed in Neenah and Oshkosh, lists two phone numbers and two addresses for people to contact if they want to join an unspecified White Supremacist group in the Fox Valley, but Neenah Police Officer Joe Benoit says it’s actually part of a harassment campaign against the family listed on those flyers.
“The addresses and the names are legitimate, but the people are complete unwitting. They have nothing to do with anything of the sort and did not consent to their name or address being used,” Benoit told WTAQ. “It was essentially a hoax, a personal vendetta that one person had against these people and this is how the person decided to handle the disagreement.”
Given the state of national discourse, the flyers were meant to weaponize community outrage, officials say, against the victims.
“We live in very uncertain times in a climate where things can kick off,” said Benoit. “As soon as you put certain symbolism or phrases onto a flyer in a public place, I think you’re playing with fire.”
Neenah police are asking anybody who has seen those flyers to dispose of them to prevent further harassment.
Police have identified a suspect and are in contact with them. That suspect was allegedly the person passing out those flyers.
The flyers appeared to be an advertisement for “The White Voice” and claimed to be a group of white supremacists that included police and community members. It included the victim’s addresses and phone numbers, as well as the name of one of the victims.
A flyer advertising the phony “White Voice” hate group. The flyer, police say, is part of a targeted harassment campaign against the people listed as contacts for the fake hate group. (Submitted photo)
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