Antisemitic flyers distributed in San Francisco neighborhood, police say

Antisemitic flyers were distributed in San Francisco's Pacific Heights neighborhood on Sunday, the San Francisco Police Department said.

The flyers falsely blamed Jews for the U.S. government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and said, "Every single aspect of the COVID agenda is Jewish," photos of the flyers posted by news outlets showed. They named some health officials in Washington, including the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as leading "the agenda" and said they are Jewish, KTVU reported.

Antisemitic conspiracy theories falsely accuse Jewish people of controlling major institutions. They date back to the Middle Ages and have historically been used to justify acts of violence and discrimination against Jewish people.

The flyers were found in front of homes in a three-square-block area on Union Street, between Scott and Broderick streets, NBC Bay Area reported.

"Officers located multiple fliers that contained anti-Semitic language," the police department said. "Officers collected the fliers, canvassed the scene for additional evidence, and authored an incident report."

District 2 Supervisor Catherine Stefani wrote on Twitter that antisemitic hatred has no place in the city.

"I've been in touch with SFPD and intend to see these individuals held accountable," Stefani wrote. In a follow-up tweet, she added, "Our communities have been terrified by the rise in hate crimes, and we must do everything we can to stand against it wherever it occurs."

Similar flyers have been reported in Florida. Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber tweeted that flyers in plastic sandwich bags with small pebbles were distributed to hundreds of homes. In neighboring Surfside, the same type of flyers were distributed to homes, officials said in a "community alert" email to residents.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.