Man behind certain antisemitic messaging in Jacksonville speaks out
A man behind some of the antisemitic messages displayed across Jacksonville last weekend is speaking out.
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Action News Jax spoke with Jon Minadeo, one of the individuals listed in a recently-released JSO incident report.
Minadeo said he goes by ‘Handsome Truth’ on the internet.
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He told Action News Jax he operated a drone last weekend that flashed the wording ‘Kanye West is right about the Jews’ in Jacksonville.
“I came to spread awareness about Jewish supremacy, and there are more and more people like me in every state,” he said.
The JSO report said Minadeo is from California. He told Action News Jax he came to Jacksonville to project the messaging specifically because of the Georgia-Florida weekend, one of the busiest weekends in Jacksonville.
“We have freedom of speech in this country, and the Jews are trying to shut it down,” Minadeo said.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said it has not identified any crimes committed.
It said the comments displayed do not include any type of threat and are protected by the First Amendment.
Colleen Rodriguez is the CEO of The LJD Jewish Family and Community Services and shared how she felt when learning about the antisemitic messaging.
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“I think everyone felt disbelief that this couldn’t possibly be happening,” Rodriguez said. “That is 2022 we’re still having people filled with such hate and disregard for people that aren’t like them. You would hope that we would be better than that. I think we all feel like our city and our community is better than that.”
Rodriguez shared the message she wants to get across.
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“I think people want us to be afraid,” Rodriguez said. “They want us to stop doing the day-to-day. They want our businesses to stop moving forward – and then in the synagogues and the religious people just to feel unsafe. We cannot give them that power.”
Action News Jax stands against any form of anti-Semitic or homophobic language or imagery and supports the Jewish and LGBTQ+ communities.
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