Highly offensive racist and anti-Semitic posters found outside Aberdeen school
EXCLUSIVE: Police are investigating after the 'vile' flyers were found by a 'distressed' parents.
Highly offensive racist and anti-Semitic posters have been found outside an Aberdeen school.
Police are investigating the ‘vile’ flyers, which were placed in and around Mile End Primary School in Midstocket yesterday.
One poster urges people to vote for American white supremacist hate group the Ku Klux Klan, writing “get the ******* out of Aberdeen.”
The ‘vile’ material urges people to vote for the KKK in the upcoming general election. Image: DC Thomson
It also features a graphic showing a Ku Klux Klan member, wearing the organisation’s recognisable hood and robes and holding a noose.
A separate flyer, also discovered in the same area, appears to make negative statements about both feminism and Judaism and includes satanic symbols.
It lists a series of high-profile women and their photos, with a Star of David placed on their heads.
The bizarre flyer also uses the controversial Sigil of Baphomet, which represents the Church of Satan, and the logo of US-based sexual health charity Planned Parenthood.
Charities have labelled the posters “bizarre”. Image: DC Thomson
The latter poster is credited to a far-right hate group the Goyim Defense League, and claims “these flyers were distributed randomly without malicious intent”.
According to anti-hate organisation the Anti Defamation League, the Goyim Defence League “espouses vitriolic antisemitism and white supremacist themes via the internet, through propaganda distributions and in street actions.”
It “engages in antisemitic stunts and schemes to troll or otherwise harass Jews”, including claiming the Holocaust is a lie and that Jews were responsible for the 9/11 terror attack.
The posters were found stashed underneath school fences and on poles in the surrounding area.
Aberdeen parent ‘distressed’ to discover posters outside school
A ‘distressed’ local parent, whose children attend Mile End school, told The Press and Journal: “I spotted one of them as I was walking my kids to school yesterday morning.
“It was a really weird one – red flags were going off immediately when I seen them.
“There was satanic references on them along with the Star of David, it was just really odd.
“In the seven or eight years of walking my kids to school I have seen some odd things dotted around – maybe homophobic or sexist or something and I usually take them down.
“I thought it was really distressing.
“To me, the placement of the posters were more chaotic the further you got to the school – handfuls were deposited near the school fence.
“It looks very intentional – the school was obviously targeted.”
“Take them down if you can”
The parent instantly reported the shocking posters to the police and urged others to do the same.
They added: “In the past, it’d instinctively rip them off and just chuck them in the bin.
“But I think it has possibly led to them, by not reporting them, being encouraged to continue.
“I would urge others to take them down if you can, and place them in a plastic bag so that police can fingerprint them.
“I don’t believe that any Aberdonian in my position would do any different.
“The police during this issue were very pleasant to deal with, they offered me support throughout even though I wasn’t directly impacted.”
‘Shocking, offensive and bizarre’ posters condemned
Anti-racism charity Hope Not Hate has also called for a swift investigation to stop the spread of these posters.
Director of the charity Georgie Laming described the material as “vile”.
He told The Press and Journal: “These posters found outside of an Aberdeen school are shocking, offensive and bizarre.
“An investigation must be carried out swiftly to identify the source of them.
“Hate-filled graphics and memes used by extremist groups and individuals can often be alluring to people at risk of radicalisation.
“Young people see more of this vile content, and increasingly, some are drawn in.
“If any parent or guardian is concerned – they can read up on the Signs of Hate on the HOPE not hate website.”
‘Chilling’ that racist and anti-Semitic posters were put up near school
A spokesperson for the Community Security Trust, which provides safety, security and advice to the Jewish community in the UK, said: “These racist posters are utterly disgusting and clearly designed to whip up hatred.
“The fact that they were put up near a school makes them even more chilling.
“We urge anyone who sees any similar posters to report them to the police.”
Police probe ‘offensive leaflets’
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We were made aware of offensive leaflets being found on a path in Westburn Road, Aberdeen on Thursday, May 30.
“Enquiries are ongoing”.
“Anyone with any information is asked to contact 101 quoting reference 0882 of 30 May.”
Aberdeen City Council has been approached for comment on behalf of Mile End Primary.
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