Antisemitic note found in Jewish Rep. Fine’s driveway after lawmakers pass hate crime bill

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – Rep. Randy Fine, R-South Brevard County, said his son found an antisemitic note in their driveway Saturday days after House lawmakers approved legislation to tackle hate crimes.

The note said “Happy Birthday Adolf Hitler” with swastikas and a message that said “died fighting the eternal enemy, the Jew.”

“My 11 year-old son found this on our driveway in a bag with rocks this morning,” Fine said on social media.

“Hope these animals had a good time. Soon enough, this will get them sent to prison for five years.”

The driveway note was placed days after House lawmakers unanimously approved a bill that would increase penalties for intimidating or threatening someone based on religious or ethnic heritage.

That bill would still need approval from the Senate before going to the governor.

Mike Caruso, R-Delray Beach, and Fine carried the bill in the House.

Fine gave a heartfelt and passionate speech on the floor minutes before it passed Thursday.

“There is no right to intimidate. There is no right to threat,” Fine said.

He elaborated on how he has “learned to deal” with threats over the years.

“It’s not fun. The kind of hate mail you get, that’s an average Tuesday in my office,” Fine said. “My aides just don’t pay attention to most of it unless they really say they’re going to kill me, we don’t send it on.”

Caruso described hateful acts across the state Thursday, including giant swastikas projected on buildings, violent attacks on church dwellings, and hateful flyers being thrown in people’s yards.

The bill would prohibit someone from intentionally dumping litter onto a private property in order to threaten or intimidate. The person could face a first degree misdemeanor, and if there is a credible threat, it bumps to a third degree felony.

A person who maliciously harasses, threatens, or intimates another person because of religious or ethnic heritage heritage would face a first degree misdemeanor. If a person makes a credible threat, they would face a third degree felony.

The legislation also targets projections. It would be a first degree misdemeanor to display or project onto a building without written consent of the owner.

If a person displays an image of a credible threat, that person would commit a third degree felony.

“We are saying to the face of evil that we will not be silent. That we will not put up with these things,” Fine said. “And in Florida when we say ‘never again,’ we mean it.”