City investigating racist flyers

Jim Lienhoop

A two-page flyer ranting about student indoctrination by socialists and left-wing ideology, cult activity by a yoga group and various complaints about Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. administrators and teachers has been turned over to Columbus police by school resource officers.

The flyer, which makes racist accusations, states Black leaders in the community are spreading “racial and anti-America woke ideology.”

The flyer, which was thrown out on to sidewalks, parking lots and elsewhere around Bartholomew County, also resulted in a notification about the document to Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop’s office, with the email from a Columbus resident describing it as “libelous litter.”

Lienhoop responded by saying, “Not at all what we want to see/hear in our community.”

When police were contacted, they said they are working with school resource officers on the matter.

Lienhoop released the following statement about the incident, encouraging residents to contact police with any information they might have.

“Earlier today, concerned City of Columbus residents shared disturbing images of a flyer found throughout local neighborhoods that purported itself to be the truth. In reality, this vitriol was disseminated in an attempt to intimidate, harass, and bully our local teachers, business owners, and city officials. Law enforcement were alerted, and are doing all they can to obtain relevant information concerning this incident, and are reaching out to those directly targeted to ensure their physical safety.

Let me be clear — the views espoused in this flyer are antithetical to the American values that we cherish and defend, and they hold no regard in the city of Columbus. In our city, we continue to welcome persons of all faiths, races, ancestry, and backgrounds. Their direct contributions have not only enriched our community, but have allowed our community to flourish economically, enabling us to continue to attract a dynamic workforce that supports local, regional, national, and international companies. We welcome them as our educators, our faith leaders, our entrepreneurs, our health care providers — our neighbors. This is what makes Columbus the ‘Unexpected and Unforgettable’ community we are proud to call home.

Together, we can foster and maintain a welcoming, inclusive attitude, which does not tolerate such hateful actions, or condones the spreading of misinformation intended to bring fear to our community and to our neighbors. If you or someone you know feels unwelcome or are the victim of hate, we want to know.

The Human Rights Commission has an online reporting portal called Report Hate, where you can contact city staff. See columbus.in.gov/human-rights for more information. If you have relevant information that you’d like to share concerning this incident, please contact the Columbus Police Department at 812-376-2600.”

Pastor Johnnie Edwards, president of the Columbus/Bartholomew County chapter of the NAACP, said he’s heartened that a cross-section of the community and people of various races will push back against such hatred.

“This is no longer a matter of just sitting by silently,” Edwards said. “This is about our collective voices as we stand together. And our voices will be much louder than those who have something racially negative to say about this community.

“We have here an individual trying to divide us. So this is a time for us to directly say that to we stand as one unit. And we will not tolerate someone coming in attempting to divide us.”