ELKHORN, Wis. — A Sunday morning walk in Elkhorn turned unsettling for one resident when she stumbled upon plastic bags filled with a disturbing message. The bags, containing birdseed to likely weigh them down, held flyers promoting a white nationalist organization.

What You Need To Know

  • Elkhorn residents discover bags promoting a white nationalist organization 

  • This discovery has sparked a police investigation and left many residents feeling uneasy

  • Police believe a sedan seen on surveillance footage driving down Meadow Lane and East First Avenue early Sunday morning may be connected to the distribution of the flyers, which they’ve called,"‘Aryan flyers"

  • Police are asking anyone with information about the flyers or the vehicle seen in the surveillance footage to come forward. You can contact the Elkhorn Police Department at kbass@elkhornpd.org

“During a neighborhood walk, I noticed on the ground some baggies with a notice in it and it looked like seeds, so I kicked one over and looked at it and it was something about white power, and I just left it where it is,” said Elkhorn resident Ruth.

This discovery has sparked a police investigation and left many residents feeling uneasy. Police believe a sedan seen on surveillance footage driving down Meadow Lane and East First Avenue early Sunday morning may be connected to the distribution of the flyers, which they’ve called, "Aryan flyers."

“I suppose that’s what they were doing, putting them in the mailboxes,” said Ruth. “I think I saw three of them. Just right in the gutter.”

The flyers were scattered throughout the neighborhood, including near East First Avenue and Jackson Street. Another resident, Mari Valdes, who recently moved to Elkhorn, expressed her views upon learning about the incident.

“I don’t feel no type of way,” said Valdes. “I am the skin color I am. I can’t do nothing about that. I wouldn’t say people aren’t entitled to their opinions, they are, but you know, spreading hate across the world… when we are all humans. If you cut me as a Black person, I’m going to bleed red. If I cut you as a white person, you will also bleed red.”

While Valdes said the rhetoric doesn’t faze her, and she has a simple message: “There’s no need to spread hatred. If you have hatred against a certain race, that is up to you as a human being. Just don’t spread it around.”

Both Ruth and Valdes agree that this is a disturbing occurrence for a community they describe as friendly and welcoming.

“I haven’t encountered any racist act against me,” said Valdes. “The neighbors are really nice.”

“This is sort of out of the box for this neighborhood I would say,” said Ruth.

Police are asking anyone with information about the flyers or the vehicle seen in the surveillance footage to come forward. You can contact the Elkhorn Police Department at kbass@elkhornpd.org.

Here is the full statement from Elkhorn Police Department:

“We have been made aware of the Aryan flyers that were distributed in the City over the weekend. We believe this may have occurred in early morning hours on Sunday, August 26th. A possible suspect vehicle was captured on camera around 1:48 A.M. in the area of Fair Meadow Lane and E. First Avenue. We are asking for anyone who may have video of any vehicles or subjects involved to please share them with the police department. Videos and information can be emailed to Detective Bass at kbass@elkhornpd.org.”