Twice as much white supremacist literature was distributed on US college campuses and other locations in 2019 compared with the previous year, the Anti-Defamation League said Wednesday.
In Massachusetts, the number of incidents rose fourfold, from 35 reported instances in 2018 to 148. On college campuses, it rose from eight to 30, according to the ADL.
"Our data clearly demonstrates that white supremacists are doubling down on the distribution of propaganda across the U.S. and in our region, with a particular focus on campuses and the public square,’’ Robert Trestan, head of the ADL’s Boston office, said in a statement. “By injecting a barrage of racist, anti-Semitic and anti-LGBTQ fliers, stickers, banners and posters into the public square and on campus, white supremacists are attempting to normalize their messages of bigotry and to bolster recruitment, all while hiding behind the cloak of anonymity, never having to face the consequences of their hate and intolerance.’’
The states with the most incidents were California, Texas, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky, Washington, and Florida, the group found. Only Hawaii reported no incidents in 2019.
It said its statistics are based on “news and media reports, government documents (including police reports), victim reports, extremist-related sources, Center on Extremism investigations and more.’’
Nationally, there were 2,713 cases of supremacist literature distribution across the United States in 2019, compared with 1,214 incidents in 2018, the ADL reported. While dozens of groups were responsible, roughly 90 percent of the incidents were the work of three organizations: Patriot Front, American Identity Movement, and the New Jersey European Heritage Association, it said.
Last February, dozens of fliers stating “Keep America American’’ were found plastered around East Boston’s Eagle Hill section. In November, a group that tracks online extremism said a neo-Nazi group had posted a video showing its members putting up propaganda posters at Boston University.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com.
