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First Selectman Blasts 'Disturbing' Fliers Found In Westport

WESTPORT, Conn. -- Westport First Selectman Jim Marpe issued the following statement concerning "disturbing" fliers with a racist message that were found outside Westport homes Thursday and Friday. 

Westport First Selectman Jim Marpe

Westport First Selectman Jim Marpe

Photo Credit: File

"I am deeply concerned and disappointed that statements like this have found their way to Westport homes. This kind of racial ugliness has no place anywhere, and certainly not in Westport," Marpe said in the statement. "I have always been proud to speak of Westport as an open and welcoming community, and I continue to believe that the vast majority of Westporters practice that belief through tolerance, inclusion and everyday civil behavior.

"This past year has reminded us that our nation still needs to deal with some serious racial issues, and now we know that Westport is not immune." 

WestportNow.com reported that the flier is single sheet of folded into fours and enclosed in a weighted baggie. The message on the flier is #White Lives Matter. To see a photo and read the full report, visit WestportNow.com here.

The message #BlackLivesMatter has been used by protesters since last summer after incidents in which African-Americans have died at the hands of police officers, most notably in Ferguson, Mo., and New York City as well as most recently in Baltimore. 

"I have asked TEAM Westport to work with the Interfaith Clergy, the Board of Education and the appropriate town agencies, to lead our community's response to these outrageous statements and, more importantly, the behaviors and beliefs that underpin them," Marpe said in the statement. 

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