White supremacy flyers in southeast Wisconsin; police pick up hundreds

White supremacy flyers in southeast Wisconsin

Police are finding white supremacy flyers, hundreds of them, across multiple counties in southeast Wisconsin.

WEST BEND, Wis. - Police are finding white supremacy flyers, hundreds of them, across multiple counties in southeast Wisconsin.

White supremacy flyers

What we know:

West Bend police said officers picked up about 100 flyers after calls started coming in early Sunday morning, May 4. 

But West Bend is not alone. Reports of finding those flyers came in from Mequon, Grafton, Thiensville and Cedarburg, where police confirmed finding about 100 bags with the same kind of flyers. The wording varies, but the message is the same – promoting a white supremacy group. 

What they're saying:

The Germantown Community Coalition said the following in a statement: 

"This campaign of intimidation is designed to divide us, to instill fear, and to promote a false and dangerous narrative about who belongs in our community."

"Let us be clear: Germantown belongs to all of us. Hate has no home here."

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"Anytime a group targets communities with propoganda, it's to sow discord; to sow fear among the community that receives these flyers," said Jeff Tischhauser, Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) Senior Research Analyst.

Jeff Tischhauser

Tischhauser researches the white power movement for the Southern Poverty Law Center. He said flyering has been used for decades, including by the Klan. Tischhauser said the latest flyers are promoting a neo-Nazi group.

"This is an old-school tactic that is just getting new life as extremism is becoming more mainstream," Tischhauser said. 

Flyering technique

Dig deeper:

In 2023, SPLC said it recorded 235 racist flyering incidents in Wisconsin. In 2024, it saw an increase of more than 4% – with 90% of Wisconsin's flyering happening in or around Milwaukee.

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