Detectives Investigate Bias Incident In McLean

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McLean Police District – This morning, officers from our McLean Police District responded to numerous reports of suspicious flyers portraying bias material.

Officers found the flyers distributed in multiple residential neighborhoods throughout West McLean. Homeowners alerted officers to sealed plastic bags containing a propaganda flyer weighted with bird seed on their property. Police have recovered 40-50 flyers throughout the neighborhoods. Detectives are working to determine the origin of these flyers. At this time, the flyers appear to have been randomly distributed.  

For awareness, a Bias Crime or Incident, per FCPD G.O. 520.7 Bias Crime Policy, is defined as: 

Bias Crime: Also known as Hate Crime.  Any unlawful action committed against a person because of race, religious conviction, ethnic/national origin, disability, and/or sexual orientation.  The Code of Virginia does not specifically define a bias crime or hate crime as a violation of law but does provide enhanced penalties for assault and battery (§ 18.2-57) and vandalism (as defined by § 18.2-121) when the acts are committed against a person based upon their race, religious conviction, color or national origin. 

Bias Incident: Involves behaviors that, though motivated by bias against a victim’s race, religious conviction, ethnic/national origin, disability, and/or sexual orientation, are not criminal acts (i.e., distribution of unsolicited hate literature hostile or hateful speech or other disrespectful/discriminatory behavior may be motivated by bias but is not a criminal violation of criminal law) but may be classified as a violation of civil statutes.  They become criminal acts only when they directly incite perpetrators to commit violence against persons or the destruction of property. 

If you are the victim or witness of a Bias Crime or Incident in Fairfax County, please contact the FCPD at 911 (for in progress) or our non-emergency number at 703-691-2131. Anyone with information about this crime or who may have noticed anything suspicious is asked to please call our McLean Police station at 703-556-7750. To contact our detectives, please call our Organized Crime and Intelligence Bureau at 703-802-2750.  

You can find more information at the FCPD Bias Crime link:  

Bias Crimes | Police (fairfaxcounty.gov)

You can find information from the FBI on Hate Crimes at the following link: 

Hate Crime — FBI

Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Solvers by phone – 1-866-411-TIPS (866-411-8477), and by web – Click HERE. Download the ‘P3 Tips’ App “Fairfax Co Crime Solvers”. Anonymous tipsters are eligible for cash rewards. Please leave contact information if you wish for a detective to follow up with you. 

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