Antisemitic vandalism continues in Pensacola despite arrests: Report

Antisemitic vandalism continues in Pensacola despite arrests: Report

Despite the arrest of four teenagers last week, charged with hate crimes for a series of antisemitic vandalism in Pensacola, similarly offensive graffiti appeared on an Escambia County business over the weekend.

The Pensacola News Journal reports the latest target as Flowerama, a florist on Barrancas Avenue, not far from Pensacola Country Club. As was the case with the previous antisemitic vandalism, Nazi swastikas were the graffiti of choice painted on the walls of the florist’s building.

But it appears the issue goes beyond antisemitism. Graffiti including the initials “RWB” has appeared in multiple locations, with RWB believed to stand for the white supremacy group “Revolutionary White Brotherhood.”

In addition, during an International Women’s Day in March in downtown Pensacola, organizers said the event was disrupted by a group of Nazis, according to a report by WEAR.

Two masked men are seen holding a Confederate battle flag with the State Seal of Florida in the center in a clip from a video posted by organizers of an International Women’s Day event in Pensacola.

Video from the event posted to social media shows what appears to be younger men holding a flag with the Florida state seal in the center of a Confederate battle flag. The men are masked and can be seen doing the Nazi salute and shouting “white power,” according to the report.

The four teenagers arrested last Friday have been charged with hate crimes stemming from a series of eight separate instances of antisemitic graffiti either painted on buildings or on bricks which were thrown through the windows of Pensacola religious centers.

Pensacola police said at the time more arrests were possible. That statement was made prior to the weekend’s racist vandalism at the Flowerama.

“We remain steadfast as your law enforcement agency,” Pensacola police chief Eric Randall said this week. “As your partner and collaborator to make sure that we thoroughly and aggressively investigate any and all acts in the community, especially those that are spewed with hate and instill fear in the community.”