A Zanesville man was ordered on Tuesday to pay $48,000 in fines for throwing 160 antisemitic flyers out of a moving vehicle in Squirrel Hill in May.
Jeremy Brokaw, 45, is expected to appeal the verdict following his summary traffic trial on Tuesday in Pittsburgh Municipal Court.
Pittsburgh police said that Brokaw traveled to Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood on May 18 in a gold Dodge SUV and threw more than 160 flyers from the window.
He was charged with 160 counts of littering on a roadway, each of which carries a $300 fine.
Following a hearing on Tuesday morning, Brokaw was found guilty by Magistrate Judge Craig Stephens.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh said the flyers came from the white supremacist group Goyim Defense League. The Anti-Defamation League calls the group a “small network of virulently antisemitic provocateurs.”
“Goyim” is a Yiddish and Hebrew slur for non-Jews.
Officials said that the flyers were found in plastic bags weighed down with corn kernels.
David Heyman, a spokesman for the federation, said that during the hearing Tuesday, Pittsburgh police played video taken from a residential video surveillance camera that showed the flyers being thrown from the vehicle.
According to TribLive news partner WTAE, Brokaw’s attorney argued that his client should not have been charged with 160 separate counts, and that it should have been just one incident.
“This was, I think, at worst, a misguided attempt at political advocacy. I don’t think that’s something that should entail a punishment this severe — $50,000 in fines. It’s just too much. It’s very crushing,” attorney Joshua Smith said.
Brokaw said he plans to appeal, WTAE reported.
The distribution of the flyers was one of more than 100 antisemitic incidents reported in Pittsburgh this year.
Eric Kroll, deputy director of community security for the federation, said the group is pleased with the hearing’s outcome and grateful to the community members who shared information that led to the Brokaw being cited.
“While the charges were for littering, the underlying acts were meant to spread hate, and we will continue to stand against antisemitism and all forms of bigotry,” Kroll said.
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