Antisemitic propaganda disseminated in Calaveras County; BOS to make statement

By [email protected] | on July 25, 2023

Ziploc-style plastic sandwich bags containing a single half-sheet of paper and a small amount of shredded rubber, rice, or other inert material were distributed anonymously across multiple neighborhoods in Calaveras County during the month of July.

They were first found in Murphys and Angels Camp.

Some residents of Murphys saw a vehicle from which the sandwich bags were being thrown. The residents of Murphys, an unincorporated area, responded by collecting the bags immediately.

Similar antisemitic propaganda was found in Angels Camp.

“We responded to several calls for service within the city limits,” said Angels Camp Police Chief Scott Ellis in a phone call with the Calaveras Enterprise on July 17.

District 3 Supervisor Martin Huberty said: “I know that the Sheriff’s Office and the Anti-Defamation League are aware, but I would also ask that we the citizens of Calaveras stand together to make sure there’s no room for this type of behavior in our community. It’s distressing that this uninformed, uneducated, hateful rhetoric continues to permeate our community. It doesn’t have a place here nor should it anywhere.”

The printed material inside the bags contained antisemitic propaganda, addresses to websites where more antisemitic propaganda could be found, and QR codes.

A QR code is an array of pixels set in a grid that can be easily read and picked up by a smartphone or camera. A QR code stores and accesses data, such as the URL of a website, but it is possible a QR code could introduce malware onto the device used to scan it, potentially disclosing personal or financial information. The FBI issued a warning about QR codes in January of this year.

Muriel Zeller, a resident of Valley Springs, found one of the Ziploc-style plastic sandwich bags in front of her house on July 24. “Calaveras County is my home. I don’t believe this is who my neighbors are,” she said. “They are the cowards, not us.”

The Calaveras County Board of Supervisors will be making a statement against the distribution of antisemitic propaganda. It will be read at the next meeting, on Tuesday, Aug. 8, at 9 a.m. at 891 Mountain Ranch Road in San Andreas.

Reports of incidents taking place within the city limits of Angels Camp should be directed to the Angels Camp Police Department. The Angels Camp Police Department can be reached at 209-736-2567.

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