Racist Flyers At East High: Real Or A Hoax?
By Tom Mustin
DENVER (CBS4) - Is it a hoax, or a real effort to recruit young members to a Neo-Nazi group? That's what officials with Denver Public Schools are trying to figure out after receiving reports of white supremacist flyers being distributed near the grounds of Denver East High School.
No actual flyers have been confiscated, but social media pages show plenty of pictures of the alleged recruiting posters.
Students at Denver's East High School spoke out Wednesday after reports of the racist flyers being posted on and around campus.
"If the speech is trying to promote hate, promote people getting injured and feel bad about who they are, it's not okay," student Bridgette Harline told CBS4's Tom Mustin.
"Knowing it will offend people, and East being such a diverse school, it's just not right" said sophomore Jade Norris.
Social media posts show the flyers supposedly were part of an effort to recruit "alienated" students to join the National Socialist Party.
CBS4 spoke to parents and staff who said they had seen the flyers. On Wednesday, DPS released a statement saying, to their knowledge no flyers had been found on campus, and Denver police were aware of the situation.
"It's just not right. It brings us down as a nation and as a school," said parent Linda Curtis.
Curtis says she's proud of East's diversity. She believes students and faculty will see through any efforts to promote hate at the school
"Hopefully we'll be able to see through this and never let it get through the door," she said.
Civil rights activist Alvertis Simmons says there are questions about where the flyers actually came from. He says even if the flyers are a hoax, the issue is real.
"People should not use our schools and our kids for propaganda effect or hate. Period," Simmons said.
When it comes to promoting hate at East High, Linda Curtis is hoping students will just say no.
"I believe that as a school, East High school will reject it and we'll go forward."
There's currently no word on who actually distributed the flyers, or if there was any real connection to Neo-Nazi groups.
Denver police say they are aware of the flyers, but they are not planning a formal investigation into the issue.
