Police in Bowie, Maryland are refuting online claims that officers in their department left anti-Semitic and political propaganda flyers in the driveways of residents in the community.
A Facebook post by the City of Bowie Police Department said that on Saturday morning, around 10:20 a.m., officers responded to reports of political propaganda being left in the driveway of a local resident.
When officers arrived in the neighborhood, they discovered “cards with anti-Semitic and political propaganda placed in plastic bags, weighted down with corn, throughout many driveways.”
According to the post, officers collected the flyers and spoke to several residents, saying the area had been cleared by 11:07 a.m. Later in the day, after online comments suggested that the police were involved with distributing the material, the department reviewed body camera footage of the responding officers.
According to Bowie police, the body camera footage showed the responding officers “clearing the material from the area only and commenting on the importance of removing the material.”
“Unfortunately, reports of these weighted bags filled with hateful material being left on many doorsteps are coming in from all across our country, even within neighboring counties,” police said. “We want to make it clear that there is no place for hatred or these despicable acts in the Bowie community, the post said.”
The incident matched another reported case of propaganda and anti-Semitic flyers papering the area around Montgomery County, Maryland, a few months prior to this incident.
Bowie police say they are actively investigating the distribution of the hate-filled flyers and have increased patrols in the areas where they were found.
Police ask any resident who may have information or an exterior home security camera to contact them at 240-544-5700. Residents with video footage can send files to the Bowie police department by emailing IMPACT@cityofbowie.org or visiting https://www.publicstuff.com/submit.
WTOP’s Jessica Kronzer contributed to this report.
