SAN DIEGO — A San Diego City councilmember announced Thursday he is pushing for an ordinance that would enhance the penalties for anyone caught littering neighborhoods with hate speech flyers.
The announcement came after thousands of antisemitic flyers were recently found in historically Jewish neighborhoods including Del Cerro, San Carlos, Lake Murray and Allied Gardens.
According to San Diego Police, eight incidents have been reported since July. The fliers are put on car windshields overnight.
"I get text messages and calls from neighbors saying 'What are you going to do about this? Our kids are terrified. We don’t want them to go to school scared,'" said District 7 Councilmember Raul Campillo.
Campillo pointed to recent incidents of violence against the Jewish community, including an attack on a rabbi at a 7-Eleven store near San Diego State University.
San Diego Police told CBS 8 that a person of interest has been identified. But so far, no one is in custody.
During a news conference Thursday at Temple Emanu-El in Del Cerro, Campillo was joined by leaders in the Jewish community as well as the Anti-Defamation League.
Campillo told reporters he is working with the city attorney's office on drafting an ordinance that would make littering neighborhoods with hate speech flyers a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail. He said current penalties are merely a slap on the wrist.
"It’s simply littering. It’s only punishable by an infraction like running a stop sign," he said.
He plans to have a draft before the public safety committee soon. He said he expects it to go before the full council before the end of the year.
WATCH RELATED: Antisemitic flyers found around San Diego