White Supremacists Target Bellevue Residents With Fliers

BELLEVUE, WA - Dozens of packages made by a white supremacist group targeting immigrants were found in Bellevue over the weekend, and police are investigating the matter. This is the second time that the same hate group has advertised its presence in Bellevue.

Around 4 p.m. Sunday, Bellevue resident Heather Chaney came home to find one of the packages in her mailbox. She realized right away that the fliers were from a hate group. The fliers included the phrase "blood and soil" - a Nazi slogan. Although upset by the flier, Chaney set out in her neighborhood looking for more.

"I was just shocked," she said Monday.

In total, she collected 64 of the packages. There were small candy bars stashed inside each package that Chaney suspects were aimed at kids in the neighborhood. The packages were dropped near elementary and middle schools in the Clyde Hill area.

The fliers were from Patriot Front, which has been labeled a white supremacist group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The group has advertised its presence before. In November, the group put up posters in Bellevue and Gig Harbor.

Pictures of the fliers were posted on Twitter by the Anti-Defamation League's Pacific Northwest office. The fliers implore locals call the Department of Homeland Security on people suspected of being in the country illegally.

"Keep America American," the fliers say.

Chaney also believes the fliers targeted her neighbors. About 30 percent of students at nearby Chinook Middle School speak English as a second language. Bellevue police spokesman Seth Tyler said officers on Sunday took a report about the fliers.

The Seattle Anti-Defamation League (ADL) office alerted locals about the fliers, calling them "hateful."

"We’ve confirmed that these fliers were distributed by Patriot Front, a white supremacist group working in Washington state to spread messages of antisemitism, racism, Islamophobia, and intolerance. We are continuing to work closely with law enforcement and community leaders to track and expose these acts of bigotry," ADL Regional Director Miri Cypers told Patch.

Chaney was keeping the 64 packages she collected in a garbage bag - but planned to throw them away.

Photo courtesy ADL Pacific Northwest