NYPD ramps up patrols following anti-Semitic ‘National Hate Day’ online threats

Police said NYPD patrols would be stepped up this weekend in response to threatening online chatter about an anti-Semitic “National Hate Day” scheduled for Saturday.

While no threats have been identified in the city, the NYPD plans to exercise caution by deploying additional resources to “sensitive locations, including houses of worship,” the NYPD said in a statement Friday.

In a video posted on social media, anonymous online organizers of the event urged like-minded people to distribute anti-Semitic banners, stickers and leaflets, as well as paint anti-Semitic graffiti messages, a law enforcement source said.

The “extremist” event “is meant to intimidate and divide us, but we will remain united in our kindness and positivity” the Anti-Defamation League wrote on Twitter. Thursday.

The threat comes days after a group of neo-Nazis held an anti-Semitic demonstration outside the Bernard Jacobs Theater on W. 45th on Tuesday during the first preview of the Broadway musical Parade, which tells the story of an American Jew wrongfully convicted of murder and lynched a century ago. .

IN video posted on social media the men held a sign that read “LEO HONESTLY WAS PEDONO”, referring to Leo Frank, the Georgia factory manager whose life and death are depicted in the series.

The demonstration was attended by about a dozen protesters affiliated with the National Socialist Movement, a neo-Nazi group with half a century of roots, said Rick Miramontez, a spokesman for the musical.

“I can confirm that there were definitely MNB members there,” said National Socialist Movement leader Bert Colucci. “The New York division took over; I only found out about it after the fact.”

It was unclear whether the authorities had been given advance notice of the demonstration. The NYPD said no arrests were made.

“We urge all New Yorkers to remain vigilant, and if you spot anything suspicious, call 1-888-NYC-SAFE,” an NYPD spokesman said of the possibility of Hate Day incidents this weekend.