ATLANTA — A new report from the Anti-Defamation League finds the spread of white supremacist propaganda in Georgia, including flyers distributed in driveways and on car windshields, rose dramatically in 2022.
The ADL’s Center on Extremism found 201 reports of propaganda across the state, compared with 29 in 2021. The fivefold increase is largely tied to the efforts of a handful of organized groups, including the Florida-based Goyim Defense League (GDL).
“It’s disturbing and alarming to see numbers grow like this in Georgia,” said Eytan Davidson, who heads the ADL’s southeast office in Atlanta. “This is just one more signal that the fight against extremism and bigotry remains as critical as ever.”
The ADL report recorded a 38% increase nationwide in propaganda incidents ranging from flyers and graffiti to banners drops from highway overpasses and laser projections on buildings. The group’s researchers counted 6,751 cases across the nation of white supremacist messaging in 2022, including racist and anti-LGBTQ material as well as hateful messaging against Jews. Propaganda distributions were recorded in every state in the nation except Hawaii, but Georgia had the 10th most incidents in 2022, according to the report.
The overwhelming majority of the efforts — 93% — were traced back to three hate groups: the GDL, White Lives Matter and Texas-based Patriot Front. Of those, the Patriot Front accounted for most of the activity across the nation, although the GDL appeared to be the most active in Georgia with activists in the group linked to dozens of incidents around the state.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported in November that antisemitic incidents were on the rise on metro Atlanta, including distribution of leaflets and vandalism. The ADL report echoes those findings, but the report covers the entire state and includes other forms of hate speech, giving greater context to the problem.
The increase in antisemitic propaganda has taken place over several years, but it has skyrocketed recently with the rise of groups like the GDL which use the distributions in an attempt to create viral moments on the internet, which are then used to solicit donations and sell branded merchandise.
One such distribution last month in Sandy Springs and Dunwoody attracted national attention when the sole Jewish member of the Georgia House, Rep. Esther Panitch, discovered one in her front yard.
“Welcome to being a Jew in Georgia,” Panitch, D-Sandy Springs, wrote in a tweet that prompted a wave of sympathetic support and condemnation of the incident by some of Georgia’s most powerful politicians.
The incident prompted the Georgia Legislature to move quickly on a bill that defines antisemitism in state law so that certain offenses could be considered hate crimes. House Bill 30 passed the Georgia House Monday by a 136-22 vote. It now moves to the Senate to await final legislative approval.
The bill would not outlaw the distribution of antisemitic literature, but felonies and some violent misdemeanors would come with enhanced penalties if they were shown to be motivated by antisemitism.
It’s unclear what impact recent events may have on the future spread of white supremacist propaganda. The ADL notes that hate groups use propaganda distribution because it is a low-risk, high-reward way of maximizing attention to their message. The distribution of hundreds or thousands of hateful flyers gives groups that are small in number the appearance of a movement.
Cartersville resident Michael Weaver, a longtime white supremacist activist, has claimed credit for some of the distributions, often recording them on video and posting them on the internet. Last month, Weaver lost his defamation case against a Cartersville store owner in state court in Bartow County and found himself charged with thousands in the defendant’s legal fees when the case was dismissed.
Weaver vowed to appeal the decision and said it would not alter his continued distribution of GDL flyers.
“We’re going to double down here in Georgia. I’m not going to be deterred to exercise my free speech that people have fought and died for in America,” he said.
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