Racist-Flyer Incident Could Lead to Charges

Police are seeking a warrant to arrest a Glendale man they say punched a janitor after being discovered distributing racist literature at Simi Valley High School.

Authorities said they cannot prosecute the man--whom police would not name--for placing flyers in about 600 lockers earlier this month, because the leaflets are protected by constitutional free speech safeguards.

The handouts attacked “race traitors,” defined as white people who marry Latinos, blacks and Asians. The leaflets advocated driving minorities from the United States. A phone number with an 818 area code was given to call for more information.

“Passing out hate literature, regardless of how repugnant and disgusting it is, still is not illegal,” Simi Valley Police Lt. Dick Thomas said.

A janitor, who did not know the content of the handouts, found the man sliding them into lockers and asked the suspect to leave. But the custodian knew the man should not be putting anything in lockers, Thomas said.

After the man refused to leave, the custodian ran to the gym for help, Thomas said. The suspect followed and punched him in view of several coaches and students, Thomas said.

When officers arrived, the custodian said he was not interested in having the man charged with assault, Thomas said. The janitor changed his mind after seeing the content of the flyers, Thomas said.

School officials removed most of the materials, but some of the flyers made it into students’ hands, Thomas said.