DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Florida police are standing in solidarity with the Jewish community after reports that antisemitic messages were displayed outside the Daytona International Speedway.
It happened during a race on Saturday, according to WESH.
Officers told the news station there was a group of people who "displayed antisemitic messages from the top of the pedestrian bridge" in an effort to provoke police into violating their First Amendment rights.
"They attempted to bait the officers of the Daytona Beach Police Department into violating their rights in hopes of acquiring justification for a lawsuit against us," Police Chief Jakari Young said in a statement obtained by WESH.
Young went on to say that the officers remained professional throughout the encounter.
Police did not release details about the incident but said they have launched an investigation.
Both the Daytona Beach Police Department and the Ormond Beach Police Department released identical statements denouncing the "anti-Semitic propaganda."
"As Chief of Police, I want to make it clear that the Daytona Beach Police Department is drawing a hard line in the sand against the recent distribution of anti-Semitic propaganda throughout our great city," the statement read, in part. "The person responsible for distributing this material wants to promote fear, hatred, and division! We strongly denounce any form of hate or discrimination toward any individual or community."
An Anti-Defamation League Report released last year revealed that extremism and antisemitism are on the rise in Florida. In 2021, the group reported 190 antisemitic incidents and 186 incidents of white supremacist propaganda statewide.
In response to the rising incidents of extremism, Florida State Rep. Mike Caruso filed a bill to classify certain antisemitic acts as third-degree felonies.