Hate Group Posters Found At NIU

DEKALB, IL — A hate group's attempts to spread their message on campus won't be tolerated at Northern Illinois University. In an email sent to the community this week, NIU Acting President Lisa Freeman said posters from the Identity Evropa group — identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as a hate group that targets college campuses — "are being removed as they are found."

On Twitter, the group used the hashtag "ProjectSiege," posting photos of the posters found in several buildings on campus. Some Twitter users reacted angrily, with one saying, "Hate group @ NIU. F*** out of here." Another reacted with "#huskiepride" that hate group's efforts to recruit at NIU were rejected.

Freeman said the posters violate the NIU posting policy, adding, "Hatred is not something that aligns with the principles of NIU."

According to the SPLC, Identity Evropa was formed in 2016, and its fliers have appeared at dozens of campuses. "Members must be of 'European, non-Semitic heritage,'" said the SPLC, which has also identified 32 active hate groups in Illinois.

Identity Evropa was among the white nationalist groups that rallied in Charlottesville, Virginia earlier this year. The driver accused of plowing into a group counter-demonstrators, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer, wore a white polo shirt similar to those favored by Identity Evropa members, but the group's founder has said he was not a member.

Freeman asked NIU students who "biased incidents" on campus report them, adding that reports can be made anonymously. She said threats of violence or physical harm should also be reported to NIU Police and Public Safety.

" ... Our institution values all individuals and their rights, and encourages meaningful dialogue and a respectful exchange of ideas and opinions so that the voices of every student, faculty, staff and visitor to our campus can be acknowledged," Freeman said in a message to students on Tuesday. "However, our commitment to free speech and the value that we place on the exchange of diverse viewpoints should not, in any way, be interpreted as indifference to hate targeted at individuals or groups based on religion, race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, disability, sexual orientation or gender expression."

Image via YouTube screenshot of marchers in Charlottesville