'Neo-Nazis, be forewarned': Palm Beach County law enforcement vows to crack down on hate

WEST PALM BEACH — The leader of an extremist group who distributed antisemitic flyers in Palm Beach County neighborhoods this year will spend 30 days in jail, prosecutors announced Thursday.

Jon Minadeo II, 40, was convicted of a misdemeanor Monday for attempting to dump nearly 50 pounds of litter from the back of a U-Haul in March. Police said he and three other men tossed extremist literature in weighted plastic bags onto West Palm Beach residents' yards, promising they would continue to do so even after they were cited for it.

"He was so proud of what he was doing, he was live-streaming it," Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg said Thursday. "That was important evidence at the trial."

'Louder than hate': Officials, residents plot strategy to fight antisemitism

Minadeo is a known antisemitic agitator who leads an extremist group called the Goyim Defense League, whose members regularly give the "Sieg Heil" arm raise. Originally from California, the league has performed virulent stunts in cities across the country, including antisemitic messages projected on buildings in West Palm Beach and neo-Nazi rallies near Disney World.

After his arrest, Minadeo argued that his actions were protected under the First Amendment.

"Despite anyone’s opinion as to what was on the flyers, these flyers are political and religious in nature," wrote defense attorney Laura Wright in a motion to have the charge dropped. "Mr. Minadeo believes in a corruption in the political system that he has the right to make people aware of."

County Judge Marni Bryson declined to dismiss the case but agreed to keep the content of the flyers from being introduced at trial, for fear that it would bias members of the jury against him. Jurors deliberated for 20 minutes before convicting him anyway.

Aronberg said his office asked the judge to sentence him to 60 days in jail. Bryson sentenced him to 30 days.

The sentence is punishment for attempting to commit dumping of litter and not for the content of the flyers, but Aronberg said that may change for future offenders. He pointed to a new state law with enhanced penalties for those convicted of distributing extremist literature.

"We used this charge of littering because it was the only tool in our arsenal against these hate-mongers," he said. "Now we have new arrows in our quiver. We have new powers to go after these individuals criminally for spreading their filth."

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 269 into law this year, making acts carried out against either religious or ethnic groups for the purpose of threats or intimidation a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and $5,000 in fines.

Under the law, people who either deface or damage religious cemeteries, project images of religious “animus” onto a property without permission or harass others because of religious-based garments can be charged with third-degree felonies.

The State Attorney's Office in August announced one of its first successful prosecutions of a person accused of distributing antisemitic literature when a 33-year-old man from Maryland pleaded guilty to a charge of resisting an officer without violence, as well as misdemeanor charges of dumping litter and attempting to dump litter.

A judge placed the Maryland man on 12 months of probation.

Flanked by local law-enforcement officials and Assistant State Attorney Amanda McCabe, the lead prosecutor on Minadeo's case, Aronberg vowed Thursday to take more aggressive measures against those accused of distributing antisemitic materials to homes in Palm Beach County.

"Let all the hate-mongers, all the anti-Semites, all the Neo-Nazis be forewarned," he said. "Palm Beach County has zero tolerance for hate. We will not be intimidated by antisemitism. We will push back strongly."

Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Man who spread antisemitic flyers in West Palm neighborhood sentenced