Racist Fliers Circulate in Eagle

An investigation into the distribution of racist fliers to homes in Eagle, Colo. -- the town where the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant is to go on trial on a sexual assault charge -- Tuesday concluded without an arrest.

“It’s not a violation of law, not a threat, not intimidation, and not a form of violence,” Eagle County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Kim Andree said. “It’s yard mail, stuff that blows away in the wind and becomes litter, and that’s all the thought we’ve given it.”

The fliers, put out by the National Alliance white supremacist group, were headlined “Don’t sleep with blacks” and accused three black men of lying about carrying HIV when they slept with white women.

The National Alliance was founded by the late William Pierce, author of the racist novel “The Turner Diaries” that figured prominently in the Oklahoma City bombing case.

Erich Gliebe, a spokesman for the National Alliance, said the Bryant case was “absolutely” the motivation for the distribution of 3,000 fliers.

“We’re concerned about areas such as Eagle Co., where they have a relatively small number of blacks,” said Gliebe, adding that more fliers may be handed out.

Andree said the fliers -- which she said had been spotted previously in Denver and other Colorado towns -- did not mention Bryant, accused of raping a white, 19-year-old Eagle woman in his Edwards, Colo., hotel room June 30.

Bryant was arrested in Eagle on July 4 and returned for an advisement hearing Aug. 6. Charged with felony sexual assault, he is due back for a preliminary hearing Oct. 9.

FBI spokeswoman Ann Atanasio said the agency was monitoring the situation but taking no action.

“There is no threat contained in them,” she said of the fliers. “This is apparently a common tactic used by the National Alliance.”

Andree said she didn’t believe the fliers were an indication of a white supremacist element in Eagle.

Associated Press contributed to this report.