East Grand Rapids mayor responds to white supremacy fliers placed around city

By Madison Bennett | MLive

East Grand Rapids Mayor Amna Seibold has condemned white supremacy statements that were printed on fliers and posted around the city over the weekend of Nov. 4.

Seibold released a statement on social media late in the  afternoon on Sunday, Nov. 5, and addressed the fliers during a City Commission meeting the following day.

The signs, which read, "It's okay to be white," included a link to a white nationalist blog.

"We want to make this very clear. We do not agree or support the sentiments of these messages; racism has no place in our community," Seibold said.

"If I sound upset, it's because I am. Because these people came in, whoever they are, whoever the culprits are, they tried to upset our community and we're stronger than that," she said.

Many of the city commissioners shared in the mayor's feelings.

"It's obvious to me that our community was the target of an outrageous, and I mean that, an outrageous act of bigotry and hatred," Commissioner Brian Miller said. "It's the ultimate cowardice to distribute these messages in the dark of night."

According to Seibold, Public Safety officers worked Sunday, Nov. 5, to remove all of the fliers posted throughout the city.

"Many of these little posted signs, they were put on private property including some on preexisting yard signs and trees, and our officers were not able to remove these signs without the property owner's permission," she said. "And our officers did help to remove the signs as long as they were given consent by the property owner."

East Grand Rapids Public Safety Director Mark Herald said the case is an active investigation. It has been assigned to a detective and they are in contact with the Grand Rapids Police Department, he said.  

Officers also have canvassed neighborhoods, are speaking with residents and have reviewed camera footage picked up by nearby schools.

"We're doing everything we can to try and solve it," Herald said.

Concerned community members and residents filled the commission chambers Monday evening to hear Seibold and fellow commissioners speak, and to also voice their concerns.

Resident Ellen Custer said she wished there was a way the city could have communicated their objections to the fliers that reached a larger number of residents in a quicker fashion. 

"I think it would have helped to squelch a little bit of hearsay that was going around," Custer said.

The Public Safety Department is encouraging anyone with information to come forward and contact them at 616-949-7010.

"Our well-educated community knows that for our community, for our country, for our world, in order for us to move forward we all need to treat each other as equals," Seibold said. 

This post originally appeared on MLive.com Nov. 7, 2017.