Hate propaganda was tossed onto the lawns of some Sardis residents this week.
The distribution of material mentioning the Ku Klux Klan showed up along Watson Road overnight, to be discovered Thursday morning.
The posters were folded and tucked into baggies with rice, and apparently tossed onto lawns. Several people have noted on social media that they’ve reported the discovery of the material to the RCMP, through the non-emergency line.
One of the people who woke up to find the material was 24-year-old teacher, Cameron Kenis.
“They chucked it in the driveway,” he says. “It was a little concerning. It’s not really normal for this community.”
Curious, he did a little checking on the internet and found that the rice in the bag trick is a common one.
“Honestly I don’t think it’s significant, I think it was so it didn’t blow away,” Kenis says. “It’s either a really strange metaphor for something, or just a convenience.”
He can’t imagine who would subscribe to the beliefs printed on the posters tucked into the baggies.
“I’m hoping it’s some sort of crazy yahoo, that would be a better option than having a KKK group in Chilliwack,” he says. “I went on the website and it goes on about white pride and all those ridiculous ideas.”
RCMP are investigating the matter, and hate crimes are defined as any criminal offense against a person, group or property that is motivated by hatred or prejudice towards an identifiable group. The RCMP says that in B.C. there is a dedicated Hate Crimes team. The following are the identifiable groups outlined in the Criminal Code of Canada: Race, colour, ethnicity and language, religion, age, mental or physical disability, sex or sexual orientation, or any other similar factor.
People that are convicted of a hate crime may face more severe sentencing than other criminal offences that are not motivated by hate.
They says non-emergency crimes such as graffiti, vandalism and hate propaganda should be reported, along with more serious crimes like attacks, assaults and threats. It is important to state you are reporting a hate crime when calling in, and to call 911 for serious crimes.