A Drone Dropped Flyers With Swastikas On Them Outside An Ariana Grande Concert
The flyers, which said "the press is the enemy," were also dropped over an event at Sacramento State University.
https://twitter.com/Dom_Vitiello/status/1124495583387897856/photo/1
Source: Julia Reinstein (BuzzFeed News)
A drone dropped flyers emblazoned with swastikas and anti-media messages
Friday outside an Ariana Grande concert and at a Sacramento State
University event, the school newspaper first reported.
The flyers said "the press is the enemy" and accused the media and
government of being "infiltrated" by "prostitutes and felons."
According
to the State Hornet, the flyers were dropped over an annual dinner held
by the university on a pedestrian bridge near campus. They were also
found outside the Golden 1 Center arena, where Ariana Grande was performing, according to a reporter from the student paper who attended the concert.
A spokesperson for Grande did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a statement shortly after the incident on Friday, university
president Robert S. Nelsen condemned "in the strongest terms the
dissemination of hate speech and propaganda" at the dinner.
"The
anonymous act of spreading such vile material is offensive and runs
counter to the principles of inclusion and diversity practiced at Sac
State," Nelsen said. "It did not stop the event, nor will it slow our
march toward greater understanding and commitment to the rights and
safety of our campus community."
The incident was reported to the
Sacramento State Police Department, which is now investigating,
university spokesperson Brian Blomster told BuzzFeed News.
.@PrezNelsen issued the following statement this evening: "Sacramento State condemns in the strongest terms the dissemination of hate speech and propaganda Friday evening at our annual fundraising dinner on the Guy West Bridge." Full statement: https://t.co/bx1XqbjJs7.
Some of the flyers had "Tracy Mapes ©2018" in the corner and promoted
social media pages for something called "The Red X Society."
Mapes,
a 57-year-old from Sacramento, was arrested in 2017 for a similar
incident in which he dropped anti-media flyers over two NFL games in
Oakland and Santa Clara, KCRA reported at the time. He was reportedly charged with a misdemeanor and released.
 |
| A booking photo of Tracy Mapes following his 2017 arrest Santa Clara Police Department / AP |
According to Federal Aviation Administration guidelines, it is illegal to fly drones over stadiums during games.
A
spokesperson for the FAA told BuzzFeed News it is illegal to fly a
drone over people without a waiver, and that the agency is working with
local law enforcement to investigate Friday's incident.
On Facebook, Mapes posted several aerial drone images on Thursday and Friday.
Images of the flyers he released Friday were posted on his Facebook in April.
Also in April, he posted a video of a drone releasing flyers over the California State Capitol building, which was set to the song "Superman" by Five for Fighting.
Mapes did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The
Red X Society, which claims to be a group whose "Only Membership
Requirement is in the Participation or Direct Action in Exposing US
Corruption," has fewer than 100 followers on Facebook and just three on
Twitter. It was created by Mapes in 2014.
Source: Julia Reinstein (BuzzFeed News)
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