Sheriff Sends Message of Solidarity with Jewish Community
By the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office is taking a clear stance in response to the recent antisemitic messaging against members of the Jewish communities across the country. This messaging has recently been distributed in the Isla Vista area in the form of hateful fliers inside of plastic bags that were left in the roadway.
Sheriff Bill Brown would like to reassure members of the Jewish community that we are actively investigating these incidents and deputies will continue to reach out to Jewish faith leaders and community centers to establish open communication and address any safety concerns.
Sheriff Brown said, “The men and women of the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office denounce hatred, violence and racism of any kind. While we are pleased that we have had no recent hate crimes against Jewish victims reported in the communities we police, we want to ensure these types of crimes are reported to us if they occur. All such reports are taken seriously and investigated thoroughly. We will relentlessly pursue and apprehend the perpetrators of crimes committed against members of our Jewish community, or any other group of people within our county that is targeted due to their race, ancestry, religion, age, gender, disability or sexual orientation. We stand strong in Santa Barbara County because we stand together.”
It is the policy of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office to safeguard the rights of all people, irrespective of their disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and/or association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics. Any acts or threats of violence, property damage, harassment, intimidation, or other crimes motivated by hate or bias are viewed very seriously and given high priority.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office will not be offering a platform for hate by sharing specifics of the messages being distributed.
Anyone with information about the source of these messages is encouraged to contact Sheriff’s Detectives at (805)681-4150. If you prefer to remain anonymous, you can provide information by calling our tip line at (805)681-4171 or online at SBSheriff.org.
8 Comments
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Feb 01, 2023 09:14 AMI wonder if these are the same messages in bags that were thrown around the Westside a few weeks ago? Typical hateful cowards. Tough enough to type out fliers and put them in bags but too chicken to hand them out in person. I hope they find this loser and publicly shame him/her.
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Feb 01, 2023 11:58 AMIn a 1979 decision, the California Supreme Court held that free speech was protected under the California Constitution even on privately owned property. I do not agree with these people’s messages but I don’t agree with everything you write either sac. Either we have a constitution or we don’t.
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Feb 03, 2023 08:46 AMBenicee, WTF are you even taking about? Sac didn't say anything about charging them or restricting speech, he said figure out who they are and publicly shame them.
Free speech comes with social CONSEQUENCES. Like maybe people decide you're a dick, or maybe your employers decides they would prefer that you no longer work for them, or maybe you lose out on opportunities you might have had because you're revealed to be a vile person.
This has nothing to do with the constitution.
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Feb 03, 2023 08:39 PMAlex/Beni - I think it's the encouragement to publicly shame. Free speech has consequences, so not really free speech. However, some douchbag tagging hate on public property, especially a school, should be dealt with.
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Feb 02, 2023 09:09 PM4 down votes for the United States constitution! Perfect example of our current state of affairs in this country and community:-)
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Feb 03, 2023 10:07 AMI see your point Alex. My point is should we as a society be encouraging public shaming on things we don’t agree with? Like should we find out who you and sac are and publicly shame you guys because of a disagreement? Like doxing people? I would hope not! And sac is on every post on this site speaking as if he/she is God almighty! And if anyone disagrees with he’s/her comment he/she clogs up the whole feed with defensive post! Just post your thoughts and move on!!! Not everyone is going to agree on everything ever!!!!
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Feb 03, 2023 08:18 PMI am an unusually strong supporter of free speech, even for messages I find repugnant. But putting forth messages will always come with some sort of consequences. Putting forth popular messages will tend to make you popular. Putting forth repugnant messages will tend to make you persona non gratis. Nothing wrong with that. I also think that we can punish strewing of message-bearing debris on public property without endangering freedom of speech unduly. You want to display a message then display it on your car or in your window or on your tee shirt.
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Feb 03, 2023 10:30 PM"You want to display a message then display it on your car or in your window or on your tee shirt." Or on a flaming cross, in your front yard.