Last Updated: Nov. 23, 4:34 p.m.
At least three business locations in downtown Flagler Beach were the target of anti-Semitic graffiti in Flagler Beach between Sunday and Monday. Flagler Beach police have surveillance footage of the individual, and are looking for the public’s help to identify him.
“Over the last couple of nights the individual in the attached pictures [see above] has used spray paint to air his hate based thoughts on businesses in Flagler Beach,” Police Chief Matt Doughney emailed city staff on Tuesday. “This criminal behavior is 100% unacceptable and he needs to be identified, arrested and held accountable for his actions.”
The businesses vandalized with graffiti include Dollar General on East Moody Boulevard (State Road 100), street-level offices at 204 South Ocean Boulevard, which has residential space on the second floor, and the glass door of the disused Bank of America building on State Road A1A, according to Flagler Beach police incident reports.
Police released stills from surveillance video footage from Poor Walt’s, the bar on State Road 100, believed to be of the man who vandalized the businesses. The man is described in one of the incident reports as being “possibly in his late 30s or early 40s who appeared to be at least 300 pounds wearing a black zip up hoodie, white T-shirt underneath, blue shorts, black and white sneakers.”
A Flagler Beach police officer was at Poor Walt’s, collecting the surveillance video the morning of Nov. 20 and investigating the graffiti at Dollar General, when the owner of the building at 204 South Ocean Shore made contact with the officer to report the vandalism at that building.
The graffiti in every case is hurriedly and sloppily spray-painted with silvery-white paint. In one case, the words “Jen MURDER” (or JEW MURDER) appear sprayed on one side of a business’ side door, with the words “290,000 CHILD KILLERS” on the other side. “JEW CHILD KILLERS” was spray-painted on the glass doors of the old Bank of America building, with an incomprehensible word that may or may not be “PAIN.”
The graffiti at Dollar General, a variation on the graffiti at the other locations, had been hurled there not long before 10 p.m. on Sunday night in a much larger-sized affront–10 feet long and 6 to 8 feet high. A customer notified the manager. The paint was on the front of the building, facing the boulevard. The obscenities were still wet to the touch when a police officer went to investigate. The business owners are all pursuing charges, if the offender is identified.
Antisemitism was significantly on the rise in 2022 and 2023 in the United States and elsewhere even before the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre of Israeli civilians and others in south Israel, and the subsequent Israeli assault on Palestinians in Gaza. Antisemitism has surged further since. The current issue of L’Express, the leading French newsweekly, states on its cover in bold letters: “For the first time since 1945, a lot of French Jews are fearful to the point of hiding.” The cover is a mirror of a PBS story in the United States (“Jewish Americans are ‘terrified’ amid rising anti-Semitic attacks. How can they feel safe?”), except that the PBS story had run in January 2022.
In late October the ADL (Anti Defamation League, the civil rights advocacy group that specializes in combating antisemitism), reported that incidents of antisemitic “harassment, vandalism and assault increased by 388 percent over the same period last year,” just in the period between Oct. 7 and Oct. 25. The incidents include death threats and assaults against Jewish individuals.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil rights and advocacy organization that documents bigotry against Arabs and Muslims, has documented what it calls an “unprecedented surge” of incidents of anti-Arab or anti-Muslim bias, including allusions to a plot to kill U.S. Rep. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who has been critical of the Israeli assault.
Hate crimes or hate incidents that could not be prosecuted as crimes have been relatively infrequent in Flagler County. In February 2022, dozens of anti-Semitic fliers tied to pro-Trump, anti-Biden rhetoric were dropped in driveways in Palm Coast and in Ormond Beach by unknown persons. The acts could not be prosecuted, law enforcement said at the time, because they were protected by the First Amendment. The graffiti in Flagler Beach is not so protected because it is vandalism on business and private property. As such, the crimes could be prosecuted both as vandalism and as hate crimes, which would aggravated the charges.
The Flagler Beach City Commission met in special session on Tuesday evening. Though every commission member had been made aware of the crimes by the fire chief’s email, it let the incidents pass without mention, let alone denunciation. The meeting was focused on New Year’s Eve fireworks.
Former City Commissioner Ken Bryan, who stepped down from the commission less than a year ago after one term, was disappointed by the commission’s silence. “I called the city manager prior to the special meeting,” he said on Wednesday, “and expressed my concerns because no one in city leadership had made a public denouncement and outrage of these acts. I asked the city manager to ask the chairman, mayor or himself to make a public statement letting the public know we denounce and regret something like this has occurred in our city. I did also tell him that if I was still a commissioner or chairman, I would make a statement at the end of the special meeting Tuesday. They blew it off and I as well as many others are disappointed in their failure to respond.”
Cooley said he plans to address the matter at a business meeting next week. “I told the CM anyone is welcome to cover it, but I planned to cover that under the general business meeting,” Cooley said, referring to the city manager’s title by initials.
If you know the identity of the person pictured above, please contact the Flagler Beach Police Department by phone at (386) 517-2020, or by e-mail at [email protected]. If you prefer, you can contact Crime Stoppers of North East Florida. You can call Crimestoppers at 1-888-277-8477 or you can submit a tip online at; http://www.northeastflorida.crimestoppersweb.com/sitemenu.aspx?ID=231&
Hammock Huck says
WTF is wrong with people when this kind of hate comes a small beach town? Whoever you are, I hope justice is served swiftly and severe. We don’t need your kind here. Idiot.
C’mon man says
Be on look out for a fat, middle aged white male with cheap shoes.
Christopher says
Keep a look out for him at all the fast food joints in the county!
dan says
find him, pass go on a trial, take him to the pier and hang his sorry butt off the end until he is not moving anymore. Despicable actions by an American if he is one. Long live Israel.
Laurel says
dan: “Despicable” is to execute someone without trial, and it is unAmerican by our laws.
dan says
our American Justice system is so broken. Its time the criminals of the world get a taste of 1800’s western justice. Woke will be the downfall of this country.
Laurel says
Dan: Define “woke.”
JasonB says
Wrong on multiple levels, I hope he is quickly found and arrested. Hate has no home here.
Laurel says
Look, if you are a self confident person, you have other things, much more positive, to do. Right now, hate is spreading like wildfire, and Trump is fueling the flames. That convinces me that Trump is NOT a self confident person. If he was, he would stop the bragging and saying anything, true or false, just to keep an audience. A rambling fool (I mean really, he rambles endlessly and says nothing) wanting to be King.
Hammock Huck says
C’mon Laurel. I agree with some of your rhetoric, but it’s not all Trump’s fault.
Laurel says
HH: Okay, but don’t you recall when a President was someone to look up to? The thing is, we need leaders who are civil. A President to be proud of. A positive leader. Right now, Trump is using Hitler’s words, like “vermin” to dehumanize people. Antisemitism has skyrocketed, and yes, he has fault in that.
TR says
Oh and I guess puppet Joe says things that are important. Yea right, he can’t even remember half the time what day it is or where he is. I guess Trump says something for you to listen so you can come to your conclusion. Huh. I for one would rather listen to a rambler then a mumbler.
Laurel says
TR: You may prefer a rambler to a mumbler, but the trouble with that is the mumbling is highly exaggerated whereas the rambling is an understatement.
TR says
At least the rambler is understanding with what he’s saying, where a mumbler can not be understood and everyone asked what did he say? Heck, he sometimes doesn’t know what he’s saying. LOL
Pogo says
@Is it
The lead dancer of the Sons of the Confederacy Ballet/Mud Wrestling Team?
In tribute to the Trump-O-Mayonnaise (his favorite campaign rally tune)
Sup says
I don’t think the guy with calves as big as my biceps will be that hard to find. Look for an extra pale, bloated beached whale, probably a GenXer disgruntled that he peaked in middle school. He isn’t winning and he’s never won because he blames Jewish people, I’m sorry zionists for his struggles in life when really, it’s his thigh calves keeping him wadding in his own misery.
Yeah he deserves all that and more. Scum of the earth. POS.
FlaPharmTech says
Ridiculous and immensely sad that instances such as this still occur. We the civilized condemn this conduct and mindset. Fat boy will be caught (sorry to stoop low, but he kinda called for it) and pay.
This was sad to read, like so much in the world today.
Atwp says
Is this a white on white crime in a white city?
Laurel says
Crime.
TR says
What difference does race have to do with it? But you already know the answer to your question and are just trying to keep the divide going in this country. Coming from you I’m not surprised because everything with you is race. How about looking at this from a humanitarian side. It doesn’t matter what ones color is or what color the owners of the businesses are or what town it happened in. It wrong and when they catch the person responsible, I hope they hand down the toughest sentence the law allows.
Marc Crane says
Hate crime, prosecute !
Just thinking here says
I do not condone his actions. But please research why Israel and the Palestinians have been in conflict so long and why the us continues to back Israel financially. You may find your opinion of that region swayed.
TREEMAN says
Yes, the Arab/Jew problem started after WWI when England and France told the Arabs how THEIR lands were going to be CONTROLLED!!! The United Nations is a Big Joke and America must STOP wasting taxpayer dollars funding it!
TV says
Doesn’t help that we have a governor who condones anti-semitic remarks.