State Attorney: ‘Repulsive’ antisemitic signs in Jax protected by First Amendment

Melissa Nelson.

Saturday saw Jacksonville again in the national spotlight for the wrong reasons.

Antisemitic signs hung from overpasses in Jacksonville Saturday before the Florida-Georgia football game, and after the game, the same messages were broadcast on the side of the stadium and other buildings downtown.

Despite the collective outrage about the incidents, there might be no legal recourse for those aggrieved.

State Attorney Melissa Nelson’s Office said that the hateful words, however “repulsive” they might be, nonetheless are protected by the First Amendment.

“The type of hateful, antisemitic rhetoric we witnessed over the weekend is repulsive and has no place in any community. We will continue to monitor these types of activities to ensure the safety of everyone in our city and hold accountable any who cause harm to anyone based on hate or animus,” Nelson asserted in a direct quote.

The quote was set up by a note from Public Information Officer David Chapman, which noted “U.S. Supreme Court has consistently held such speech — even despicable speech — is protected by the First Amendment.”

“If this office is presented with evidence indicating an intent to directly incite imminent criminal activity or specifically threaten violence against a person or group, then criminal prosecution may be implicated,” Chapman contended.

Nelson’s statement Monday comes after a weekend in which some local leaders commented quickly in denunciation of the incidents, while others took some time to develop their responses.

“Jacksonville is a city made better because of its diversity. Those who spread messages of hate, racism and antisemitism will not be able to change the heart of this city or her people. I condemn these cowards and their cowardly messages,” asserted Mayor Lenny Curry, more than 12 hours after the end of the Georgia-Florida game.

The antisemitic messages first surfaced on a overpass on Interstate 10 in western Duval County. A banner urged drivers to “end Jewish supremacy” and “honk if you know it was the Jews.”

Another one surfaced on Arlington Expressway, extolling Kanye West — now Ye — for being “right about the Jews.”

After the football game downtown, similar messages were broadcast on the stadium and other downtown buildings.

Some leaders are still quiet. Gov. Ron DeSantis was in Jacksonville this weekend, including at Saturday’s Georgia-Florida game before heading to New York state to campaign with Lee Zeldin. DeSantis has yet to make a comment.

The city of Jacksonville has dealt with organized hate groups many times in its history, including repeated flyer distributions by the Ku Klux Klan. The city concluded there was little they could do beyond relying on the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to enforce litter laws.

JSO says the messages “do not include any type of threat and are protected by the First Amendment.”