Neo-Nazi Messages Keep Appearing on Buildings All Over Florida

Neo-nazis have been projecting antisemitic messages and hate symbols on buildings in Florida in recent days, blaming Jews for 9/11 and "wrecking" the U.S.

The incidents, which appear to have begun on Saturday, have been linked to the far-right groups National Socialism Florida (NSF) and Goyim Defense League (GDL) by antisemitism watchdogs. One group warned of plans to "broaden their efforts to terrorize Floridian residents."

On January 15, at around 9 p.m. ET, a projection appeared on the AT&T building on Gardenia Street in West Palm Beach, according to local reports. Video footage from the scene shows the words "Jews did 9-11 the FBI helped" scrolling across the building's face.

The clip, posted on Twitter by Stop Antisemitism, purportedly of a live stream of the perpetrators, shows three men—two wearing hoods, one wearing a baseball cap and mask—laughing on a nearby sidewalk.

"If you guys want, you can super chat your message [of] what you want on the building," one of them tells the camera. A swastika was also projected on the building.

Stop Antisemitism attributed the incident to GDL—described by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) as "a small network of virulently antisemitic provocateurs," whose name and branding parodies the ADL.

GDL founder Jon Minadeo II, who has toured the country performing antisemitic stunts and appears to be the man speaking in the video.

Liora Rez, executive director of Stop Antisemitism, told Newsweek it had traced the stunts back to Minadeo through one of his posts on the social media platform Gab.

Ben Popp, an investigative researcher at ADL's Center on Extremism, said the rise in incidents was linked to Minadeo's move from California to Florida, and that it had tracked others associated with GDL travelling to Florida to join the demonstrations.

Local police later told news station WPTV that a projector and generator had been used in the incident and that the men were confronted but were not cooperative.

"This is a welcoming—this is a diverse city," Mike Jachles, a police spokesperson, told WPTV. "But we have no place for that. We don't welcome them, those types of messages."

"I don't think us showing up had anything to do with their timeline," Jachles told another local news station, WPEC. "They were on public property; whether you endorse the message or not, we have to enforce the law. So we're looking at what, if any, laws were broken."

On January 16, Stop Antisemitism posted footage watermarked with the logo of NSF, of another building projection, this time in Jacksonville. On the top of the Wells Fargo building, the words "Jews are wrecking the U.S.A." scroll across.

Stop Antisemitism called the incident "horrifying." ADL describes NSF as a "small but growing" neo-Nazi organization based in Duval County, Florida, which "openly promotes antisemitism, fascism and white supremacy".

Both organizations linked the work of NSF to GDL. The antisemitism groups appear to have arisen in the past year.

"These two antisemites [Minadeo and Nunes] often work closely together, and many have suggested that their relationship was a factor in Minadeo's recent move from California to Jacksonville," Rez said.

"This is something that's been emboldening NSF supporters as well as GDL supporters," Popp told Newsweek. "We're seeing increased GDL activity across the country as well."

There is no suggestion that the businesses were aware of or consented to the projections on their buildings. "Companies have no idea it's happening until after the fact," Stop Antisemitism tweeted.

Images emerged online of a swastika entwined with a crucifix projected on the side of the CSX building in Jacksonville on January 14.

"These displays typically coincide with trespass, stolen power sources or violation of city ordinances," John Phillips, a lawyer at Phillips & Hunt, a Jacksonville-based law firm, wrote on Twitter in reference to the projection. "There are also hate speech laws which can be applicable. We can't just do nothing and let it continue."

"This is MY district... where my home is, my kids go to school, where my office is, where I've been working since 2001," he added in another tweet.

CSX condemned in the strongest possible terms the neo-Nazi imagery that had been projected on its building. The company told local news station Action News Jax: "The increased acts of antisemitism in Jacksonville are unacceptable. They are an appalling display of intolerance, which sows hatred and undermines our greatest strength—our diversity."

Earlier this week, Rory Diamond, a Jacksonville city council member, said he would file a bill that will look to prevent hate symbols from being projected onto private property.

"You don't have a right to put a bumper sticker on somebody else's car, you don't have a right to project an image on somebody else's building," he told Jacksonville's First Coast News. Other members have also reportedly vowed to introduce similar legislation.

The legislation may not come soon enough, though. Rez said that Stop Antisemitism has "also become aware of [the groups'] plans to broaden their efforts to terrorize Floridian residents with their antisemitic campaigns."

"In terms of GDL activity just overall, it's been increasing every year for the past couple of years. We sadly expect it to continue to rise," Popp remarked.

"In terms of these really big, public demonstrations, it also does give the appearance of them being larger and more active—that's part of the reason why they do these things; they appear larger and more popular than they actually are. They want to garner as much attention as possible."

While Popp did not expect the incidents to escalate into something worse, he noted: "There's a continued danger of normalising these sorts of images and the rhetoric that they're trying to spread. That's really they're goal here, is to desensitize people to seeing these things."

"We have been made aware of a few instances of displaying messages on the side of buildings and other structures, and these cases have been looked into," Officer Christian Hancock, a spokesperson for Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, told Newsweek.

The West Palm Beach Police Department referred Newsweek to a statement by Mayor Keith James, who condemned the projection as a "heinous and despicable act," adding: "Demonstrations like this deepen my commitment to ensure that West Palm Beach remains a place where all are welcomed and respected."

Update 01/19/23, 4:42 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include comment from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and the West Palm Beach Police Department.