5 KFSM
NEWS Fort Smith-Fayetteville
Dena Drabek Reports
Rogers residents receive unsolicited Aryan newspapers
Oct 20, 2005, 06:28 AM
ROGERS - Dozens of Rogers residents received unsolicited copies of an Aryan newspaper Tuesday night. The papers contain derogatory articles about several different ethnic groups.
Police started getting calls Tuesday night when three African-American families found the newspapers on their lawns. The calls continued Wednesday morning and investigators discovered about 100 copies of the newspapers had been distributed overnight on Tuesday to targeted areas in Rogers.
Police say most of the targeted residents woke up Wednesday morning to find The Aryan Alternative in their front yard.
“It's derogatory, it uses names and stories to portray every other race besides their own in a negative spotlight,” said Cpl. Kelley Cradduck.
Police say Hemlock and Margaret Streets in Rogers were targeted in the newspaper distribution. Investigators say the racial make-up of the neighborhood is varied.
“We had African-American families, white families and Hispanic families calling about this. There is not anyone in our community that wants to be a part of this,” Cradduck said.
Investigators say about 100 copies of the 16-page newspaper were distributed in Rogers, but the publication is based in Missouri.
“It's obviously something that is organized and put together and distributed on a routine basis, we've never seen it in our area before,” Cradduck said.
Police say they hope the Rogers community never has to see the newspaper again.
“We'll continue to investigate it, to see who did it, why and make sure they know it is unacceptable to be doing it in the future or they will be arrested if it happens again,” Cradduck said.
Investigators say a white man in his late 50s, driving a 4-door, burgundy Geo Metro or Geo Storm was spotted distributing the newspapers. Anyone with additional information is asked to call Rogers Police.
Police say the suspect could face harassment charges, because it is considered unwanted contact for the people who received the newspaper.
Publishers of The Aryan Alternative claim 50,000 copies of the newspaper were printed and distributed nationwide.
http://www.kfsm.com/Global/story.asp?S=4003369
October 22nd, 2005
Threaded Mode