Police find another round of white nationalist material on and off campus

An+alt-right+poster+found+on+Jishke+Hall+on+Sep.+17.

Hannah Olson / Iowa State Daily

An alt-right poster found on Jishke Hall on Sep. 17.

Michael Heckle

Iowa State Police found five more white nationalist posters attached to various buildings on campus over the weekend, while Ames Police also found one off-campus.

Police said posters similar to one found near Birch on Sept. 5 were found over the weekend on Sukup Hall, Howe Hall, Morrill Hall, Jischke Hall and an emergency phone outside of the HUB. Those posters linked to a white nationalist website called “A Right to Exist.”

Ames Police Commander Geoff Huff said that another poster linking to “A Right To Exist” was found Sunday afternoon in a parking complex on the 200 block of South Hyland. Police are unsure how long the poster had been up for.

“There’s nothing overtly racist on its face,” Huff said. “But if you go the website you see what its all about.”

Iowa State Police also found a poster attached to Wallace Hall that was similar to material found in West Ames last week, and on a campaign sign for school board candidate Monic Behken.

In all of the cases, the material read, “Are you sick of bankers, biased media, pol. establishment? Join the movement,’ and included a web address to the white nationalist site “The Right Stuff.”

The words “bankers, biased media, pol. establishment” were each surrounded with three sets of parentheses, or “echoes,” which refer in an antisemitic nature to Jews.

That poster also feature a “jera,” a symbol that, despite its many innocuous meanings, has been adopted by white nationalists, according to Ames Police.

“They don’t put a lot of information on the sticker or the signs,” Huff said. “I think the idea is, like any other marketing strategy, ‘I’ve got to get you to pay attention and then take the next step.'”

Police are reviewing security camera footage in the hopes of identifying a suspect or suspects. If found, the suspect(s) could potentially be charged with criminal mischief and trespassing.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Ames or Iowa State Police.