Police arrest man after van covered in antisemitic, neo-Nazi slogans drives through Florida
A man has been arrested after a van covered in antisemitic, pro-Nazi slogans was seen driving through Boca Raton and Miami earlier this week.
Rabbi Efrem Goldberg, rabbi at Boca Raton Synagogue, tweeted footage of the van driving past a pro-Israel rally. Several antisemitic slogans were scrawled across the van.
“Hitler was right” can be seen in large, capital letters written across the windows, directly above a door which bore the words “Holocaust never happened.” Written above that is ”We hate kikes”, along with a swastika.
“Rabbi’s rape” was also written on the driver’s door in large blue letters. Other slogans on the van included “Vax the Jews” and “White goy summer.”
In his tweet, Rabbi Goldberg wrote: “We rally for peace and this van filled with hate, call for genocide and threats kept circling. Thank you to our local law enforcement for keeping us safe. Hard to believe in the heart of Boca Raton if didn’t see it myself.”
The arrested man is reported to be Joseph Bounds, 33, of Denver, Colorado, who is said to belong to the anti-Jewish hate group, Goyim Defense League, along with the other men in the van. According to the ADL, the group is “a loose network of individuals connected by their virulent antisemitism. The group includes six primary organisers/public figures and thousands of online followers.”
Mr Bounds was accused of stepping outside of his vehicle in the middle of the street to record his encounter with the policeman. According to a police report, the officer issued Mr Bounds “three lawful commands to step away from traffic,” which Mr Bounds ignored.
According to Jared Holt, an expert on domestic extremism, the antisemitic stunt was live-streamed to a white supremacist website. He also noted that one of the members inside the van was Jovanni Valle, also known as Jovi Val, a member of the far-right group, Proud Boys.
We recently reported on the “Hitler was right” hashtag has been trending on Twitter this week.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has been monitoring and acting against the threat from the far-right for years and continues to support the authorities following suit.
