Parishioners at Kingdom Impact Global Ministries, a predominantly African-American congregation, in Fayetteville, Cumberland County, North Carolina returned to their cars this past Sunday to see flyers on their windshields.
These flyers were different from the normal campaign flyer, in that they did not say "Vote For Candidate X" or "No On Proposition Y" - these flyers depicted the lynching of three African-American men, by a white crowd - and the words:
Kay Hagan Doesn't WIN!!
Obama's IMPEACHMENT Will Begin!
VOTE IN 2014
On the bottom of the flyer:
Not endorsed by any candidate. Paid for by Concerned Citizens of Cumberland County.
Local NAACP Chapter President James Buxton told The Charlotte Observer that he does not see a problem with the fliers: "This is how the community feels," said Buxton. The community feels that if the Senate is taken over by Republicans, and the House remains majority Republican, that they are going to impeach Obama.
The Fayetteville Police, however, see things differently, and are investigating the matter as "hate materials," and expect Federal authorities to become involved - as they view the flier as an implied threat against the President.
There is no address listed for "Concerned Citizens of Cumberland County" and an Internet search for this group yields no results.
One woman who declined to identify herself, who had received one of the fliers, told WTVD that she felt "threatened."
Daily Banter White House correspondent Tommy Christopher tweeted that the flier looked less like a pro-Hagan screed and “more like a GOP campaign promise.”
Dawn McNair at Kingdom Impact Global Ministries says she doesn't know if the flier was meant to encourage her to vote or discourage her from voting.
Fliers with the same message were distributed at First Baptist Church, but those fliers did not have a background showing a lynching.
A spokesman for the Hagan Campaign told the Charlotte Observer that they had no knowledge of the fliers, or the group...and added that they do not coordinate with outside groups.
Hagan, herself, commented on the fliers, calling them disgusting and reprehensible. None of which has stopped various GOP-aligned groups and people from Breitbart to GOPUSA to Hot Air, to even Michelle Malkin from shouting from the rooftops:
PRO-HAGAN POLITICAL FLIERS USE LYNCHING IMAGERY
Terri Robertson, director of the Cumberland County Board of Elections, said she had not seen the flier when first contacted by a reporter. But once it was described to her, Robertson said, "That would probably be intimidation to me."
She planned to send a copy of it to the state Board of Elections and ask the state to look into it.