Patrols ramped up following ‘National Day of Hate’ threat
NYPD patrols will be ramped up this weekend in response to threatening online chatter about an antisemitic “National Day of Hate” plotted for Saturday, police said.
Though no threats have been identified in the city, the police departmnt plans to err on the side of caution by deploying additional resources to “sensitive locations, including houses of worship,” the NYPD said in a statement on Friday.
In a video posted to social media, the anonymous online organizers of the event encouraged like-minded people to disseminate antisemitic banners, stickers and flyers, and urged them to scrawl antisemitic messages in graffiti, according to a law enforcement source.
The “extremist” event “is meant to be intimidating and divide us, but we will remain united in our kindness and positivity,” the Anti-Defamation League wrote in a tweet Thursday.
The threat comes days after a group of neo-Nazis held an antisemitic demonstration Tuesday outside the Bernard Jacobs Theatre on W. 45th St. during the first preview of the Broadway musical “Parade,” which is about an American Jew wrongfully convicted of murder and lynched a century ago.
In a video posted on social media, men held a sign declaring, “LEO FRANKLY WAS A PEDO,” referencing Leo Frank, the Georgia factory manager whose life and death are depicted in the show.
About a dozen protesters connected to the National Socialist Movement — a neo-Nazi group with half-century-old roots — participated in the demonstration, said Rick Miramontez, a spokesman for the musical.
“I can confirm that there were definitely NSM members there,” said the leader of the National Socialist Movement, Burt Colucci. “The New York unit took it upon themselves; I didn’t find out until after the fact.”
It was unclear if authorities had advance notice about the demonstration. The NYPD said no arrests were made.
“We urge all New Yorkers to remain vigilant, and if you see anything suspicious, please call 888—NYC-SAFE,” an NYPD spokesperson said of of the possibility of “Day of Hate” incidents this weekend.