MCLEAN, Va. — A police investigation is underway after dozens of suspicious flyers were distributed in Fairfax County neighborhoods displaying bias material.
Officers with the Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) say they found the flyers distributed in multiple residential neighborhoods in West McLean.
The homeowners in those areas contacted authorities on Thursday to let them know they had received sealed plastic bags with a propaganda flyer weighted with a bird seed on their property. Police have found 40-50 flyers throughout the reported areas.
The flyers attributed to the group Loyal White Knights were placed inside plastic bags with bird seed, and read, "Fairfax County Taxpayers! Do you feel its worth paying over $60k for two anti-white black power speakers???"
"It is really getting rough," said Fairfax County resident Linda Jackson during an event celebrating Black History Month at the county government center. Jackson says this type of hate is nothing new, but it's manifesting itself in different ways. "It's always been there. It's always been there. It's just coming to life."
Detectives with the Fairfax County Police Department are trying to determine where the flyers came from. They say they were randomly distributed, but community members tell WUSA9 that they are in response to an event scheduled for this Sunday at the McLean Community Center featuring Howard University faculty member and Pulitzer Prize Winning investigative reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones, who covers civil rights and racial injustice.
Hannah-Jones developed The 1619 Project, a long-form journalism endeavor that has fueled the debate over how slavery should be centered in American History.
Fairfax County Supervisors like John Foust who represents the McLean area spoke out against the bias incident saying, "Our community already knows that's not who we are."
The Board of Supervisors Chair, Jeffrey C. McKay says he also believes the flyers are a response to Hannah-Jones event. "I am hopeful that we can find the people that did this, because not only are bias crimes illegal, but they are also unacceptable," said McKay.
This is being investigated as a bias incident which, according to FCPD, is described as: "behaviors that, though motivated by bias against a victim’s race, religious conviction, ethnic/national origin, disability, and/or sexual orientation, are not criminal acts but may be classified as a violation of civil statutes. They become criminal acts only when they directly incite perpetrators to commit violence against persons or the destruction of property."
The McLean Community Center told WUSA9 Friday night that they are aware of the flyers and that they will have increased security for Sunday's sold-out show, with a waiting list of over 300 people.
If you are the victim or witness of a bias crime or incident in Fairfax County, contact the FCPD at 911 (for in progress) or the non-emergency number at 703-691-2131. Anyone with information about this crime or who may have noticed anything suspicious is asked to call the McLean Police station at 703-556-7750. .