Colusa, CA – Some residents of Colusa found antisemitic flyers left on their doorsteps, cars and mailboxes distributed by unknown individuals overnight.
According to Lt. Sara Martin with the Colusa Police Department, the incident began with reports of a suspicious individual on the evening of Oct. 11. The next morning, Colusa Police received more calls regarding flyers displaying hate speech rhetoric against Jewish people.
Martin said that around the time Colusa Police first received calls regarding a suspicious person, flyers were also seen in the Valley Ranch Road area of Williams.
Police have been unable to identify or locate any individuals involved in distributing these flyers as of press time on Tuesday.
“We’re a small, rural town. It’s not often that you see something like this,” Martin said.
Colusa Police are unaware of any potential hate groups that could be affiliated in the Colusa County area. However, the flyers source a website operated by the Goyim Defense League, an antisemitic hate group and conspiracy theory network from Sonoma County. The group includes five or six primary organizers and thousands of online followers.
This group is also believed to have been responsible for a similar incident in Redding in August 2022, the Appeal previously reported.
According to Colusa resident Susan Wagenaar, several other residents were shocked to find these flyers, some of which depicted false conspiracies about the Holocaust and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The appearance of antisemitic flyers in Colusa County is a distressing incident that highlights the need for vigilance against hate and discrimination in all forms,” Wagenaar said in an email to the Appeal. “In the face of an ongoing and deadly conflict overseas, it is imperative that communities come together to condemn and reject such hateful and false rhetoric, fostering an environment of inclusivity and unity instead.”
