“Town Crier” newsletter – Briefs from the Region (2) – 4/27/20
On the morning of April 22, residents of the quiet southwest Montana town Livingston awoke to a chilling greeting—placed on doorsteps and cars, at least two variations of Anti-Semitic literature. The first read “With Jews, You Lose,” and was accompanied by declining line graph that it says represents the “value of a $1 federal reserve note in 1913 dollars,” reports the Livingston Enterprise. The other featured a photo of President John F. Kennedy, and a misattributed, derogatory quote pertaining to followers of the Jewish faith. The first flier lists the website of a Priest River, Idaho, group known as “The Brother Nathanael Foundation,” which is identified as a “general hate” group by The Southern Poverty Law Center. Parts of northern Idaho have a maintained reputation for playing host to white supremacists and related hate groups. Roughly three weeks earlier, a similar event took place when residents awoke to find cars papered with literature blaming Jews for harming the economy. According to Travis McAdam, a spokesperson for the Montana Human Rights Network, white nationalists are trying to capitalize on and exploit the COVID-19 pandemic, reports the Montana Standard.