Police are investigating several instances of Maryland residents finding fliers containing hate group propaganda on their property.
One resident of a rural Upper Marlboro community took a walk Sunday morning and found nine Ku Klux Klan leaflets. They collected the fliers and called 911, according to police.
When police arrived, they found almost 30 more fliers, police said. All the fliers were identical.
Raymond Kennerly said he found one flier in a plastic bag weighted down with bird seed underneath his mailbox.
"As a Howard University graduate, I'm kind of appalled that anybody would come to my neighborhood," resident Brandon Strong said. "All of us get along."
The promotion of a white supremacist group is particularly concerning amid a rise in hate crimes. The FBI released a report Tuesday saying hate crimes jumped by 17 percent in 2017.
And that Upper Marlboro community was only one of several canvassed with dozens of fliers.
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Residents across Charles County have found similar literature advertising hate groups, the sheriff's office says.
The fliers were placed in plastic bags, many weighed down with bird seed, and distributed randomly in areas of Waldorf and La Plata.
In Glen Burnie, up to 40 KKK fliers were found on Sunday morning. Others were found last week in Northern Virginia.
Police are investigating in all cases and say they are aware that other investigations are ongoing. It's not clear if the individuals or groups who placed the fliers are connected.
Anyone with information is asked to call the police.
