Coeur d’Alene police seek men who posted racist fliers

Coeur d’Alene Police are looking for the men who plastered telephone poles along U.S. Highway 95 with racist fliers on Tuesday.

The police took a report Tuesday that two men were putting up fliers between Neider and Bosanko avenues around 3 p.m. Police Sgt. Christie Wood said the act violates a city ordinance against the distribution of handbills and is a misdemeanor.

However, she said, “The violation of the ordinance has nothing to do with racist materials. We are not investigating a hate crime. It is a city ordinance that does not allow the distribution of handbills.”

Wood said in an e-mail that police received solid information from witnesses with vehicle and perpetrator descriptions, along with a license plate number. “The report will be forwarded to detectives, and we will investigate it.”

Police collected at least 11 of the posters put up on telephone poles. A police photo shows three different posters, one with the Iron Cross and the letters “ASI” in the middle, another with the Nazi SS insignia and a third with the letters ASI in white surrounded by a black circle.

Wood said police believe ASI stands for American Socialist Intelligence but said the detective working the case has no knowledge of that group.

Witnesses described one of the men as white with a slender build, in his 30s or 40s. He had long brown hair and was wearing a backwards khaki-colored hat. He had no shirt on and wore very short jeans shorts with cargo-style pockets.

The vehicle was described as a tan Ford Ranger pickup. Police also have a license plate number but are not releasing it at this time, Wood said.