Florida lawmakers denounce antisemitic incidents over Labor Day weekend: 'Hate has no place here'

DAYTONA, Fla. — Members of extremist groups have been spreading antisemitic and hate messages in Florida, including during a neo-Nazi demonstration outside Disney World over the Labor Day weekend — the latest incident in a surge of antisemitism across the United States.

About 15 people with flags displaying Nazi insignia gathered outside Walt Disney World in Orlando for about two hours on Saturday, the Orange County Sheriff's Office told NBC News, as others displayed messaging in support of Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The incident is not the first time the entertainment resort has been visited by neo-Nazi demonstrators. In June, multiple people waved red and black flags with swastikas, and at least one person held a poster of DeSantis outside the Orlando theme park.

Meanwhile, several other neighborhoods in the Sunshine State were littered with antisemitic flyers over the long weekend. While no direct threats have been made, local police departments are investigating the extremist messages left at private residences.

"It's deeply disturbing that this type of literature was distributed in neighborhoods in our community. Because I don't think this type of hatred has any place in our community, let alone our entire world," said West Melbourne City Council Member Diana Adams.

The United States is dealing with record highs of violence and hate speech directed at Jewish communities. According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), there were 3,697 antisemitic incidents recorded in 2022, a 36% increase compared to 2021's record figures and the highest number since the ADL started keeping such statistics in 1979.

Florida, according to the ADL's Annual Audit of antisemitic incidents, has seen a similarly troubling trend. Harassment incidents jumped from 142 in 2021 to 214 in 2022, a 51% increase. Vandalism spiked by 15%, up from 47 in 2021 to 54 in 2022. In one incident, three assailants during a neo-Nazi demonstration in Orlando assaulted a Jewish college student.  

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Recent antisemitic incidents in Florida

The demonstration outside Disney World on Saturday lasted for about two hours before the individuals dispersed, according to authorities. No one was arrested.

During the demonstration, 15 individuals carried a variety of white supremacist, antisemitic, and anti-LGBTQ+ flags and signs, according to the ADL. The civil rights organization said members of different extremist groups were present, including the Order of the Black Sun, Aryan Freedom Network, and 14 First.

Later that day, more than 50 members of extremist groups, Goyim Defense League and Blood Tribe, appeared together in the greater Orlando area and waved swastika flags, performed Hitler salutes and shouted hateful messages, such as "white power" and "Jews will not replace us," according to the ADL.

As of Monday, there has been no response or mention of the events from DeSantis' office. While the governor has been quick to tout his pro-Israel support and legislation, critics say his office has in the past been slower to weigh in on public antisemitic displays.

Saturday's demonstration joins several other hateful incidents that occurred over Labor Day weekend in the state.

Multiple neighborhoods in West Melbourne, Edgewater, New Smyrna Beach. and Wellington woke up to flyers with antisemitic and white supremacist rhetoric that were dropped off at people's homes. Local police departments are investigating the incidents and officials have urged anyone with information to contact authorities.

In Volusia County, which has been previously targeted with hate literature, residents in the cities of Edgewater and New Smyrna Beach had found Ziploc bags with pellets in them and folded-up pieces of paper that contained anti-Jewish pamphlets. Communities in Wellington also found bags with similar contents in their driveways.

Florida state Rep. Lois Frankel said she was disgusted by the latest incident.

“We must speak out against bigotry whenever we see it," she said in a news release Monday. "Hate has no place here."

In July, a group of neo-Nazis marched outside the conservative Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in Tampa which featured speeches by leading conservatives around the nation, including Donald Trump and DeSantis. According to several news outlets, the demonstrators waved posters with swastikas, Nazi flags, the Florida state flag, and posters supporting DeSantis.

The organizers disavowed the group. The Florida Holocaust Museum called it "an indefensible act of pure hatred." Several Florida political leaders, including Senator Rick Scott and then-gubernatorial candidates Nikki Fried and Charlie Crist, were quick to condemn the display, with Fried and Crist calling on DeSantis to do the same.

"I am asking you, Ron DeSantis, to denounce the Nazis that were here, here to celebrate your speech inside this convention Center," Fried, who is Jewish, said at a news conference. "They were holding your pictures yesterday."

The ADL's Center on Extremism has recorded more than 400 instances of white supremacist propaganda being distributed in Florida from January 2020 to August 2022.

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Surge of antisemitism across the US

Antisemitic incidents in the United States have surged to historic levels. The number of Americans who hold extensive antisemitic prejudice and believe in antisemitic tropes has doubled since 2019, according to an annual study from the ADL.

In 2022, the ADL reported that there were 3,697 antisemitic incidents across the country — a 36% increase from the 2,717 incidents reported in 2021. The ADL said 2022 had the "highest number on record" since the organization began tracking antisemitic incidents in 1979.

Recent studies have concluded that social media platforms are pushing hateful messages, making it easier to promote and find hateful content. Researchers say social media algorithms and search functions are encouraging dangerous ideas.

In one study from the ADL and Tech Transparency Project, researchers created online accounts for fictional people on major social media platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and X. Three out of four of the social media platforms began recommending more "extreme, contemptuously antisemitic, and hateful content" as the accounts engaged with the platforms, according to the study.

X has also faced widespread criticism since Elon Musk bought the platform last year. Since Musk's acquisition, researchers say hate speech has increased on the platform.

“It is profoundly disturbing that Elon Musk spent the weekend engaging with a highly toxic, antisemitic campaign on his platform -- a campaign started by an unrepentant bigot that then was heavily promoted by individuals such as white supremacist Nick Fuentes, Christian nationalist Andrew Torba, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and others," ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement Tuesday.

"Finally, we saw the campaign manifest in the real world when masked men marched in Florida on Saturday brazenly waving flags adorned with swastikas and chanting 'Ban the ADL,'" the statement added.

Contributing: Grace Hauck and Will Carless, USA TODAY; Katie Kustura, The Daytona Beach News-Journal; James Call, Tallahassee Democrat;Mike Diamond, Palm Beach Post