Authorities in New York and Chicago warn Jewish communities to stay alert after neo-Nazi groups declare 'Day of Hate'

• US authorities warned that neo-Nazi extremist groups are planning a "Day of Hate" for Saturday. 
• While there are no "credible threats," police and watchdog groups are "actively monitoring" the situation.
• Several white supremacist groups coordinated the "Day of Hate" on Telegram, researchers said.

Authorities in New York and Chicago and watchdog groups warned that neo-Nazi extremist groups could be planning to target Jewish people in a "National Day of Hate" on Saturday, February 25. 

The Chicago Police Department said in a statement on Thursday, "At this time, there is no actionable intelligence," according to the Chicago Sun-Times. "We continue to actively monitor the situation."

Chicago authorities said they are "in contact with members, leaders, and organizations within the Jewish community and all faith-based communities in Chicago and will continue working closely with them to strengthen communication and safety." 

A similar statement by the NYPD circulating online said that officers should maintain "elevated situational awareness" on Saturday – the Jewish Sabbath – for violent extremism. 

—Wu-Tang is for the Children (@WUTangKids) February 23, 2023

The New York Police Department's statement said overtly antisemitic social media posts from extremists have been "instructing likeminded individuals to drop banners, place stickers and flyers, or scrawl graffiti" to target Jewish people. 

While an NYPD spokesperson said while there are currently no credible threats, "out of an abundance of caution, the Department will deploy additional resources to sensitive locations, including houses of worship, throughout the weekend," according to local news. 

On Thursday, researchers for the Counter Extremism Project found that several neo-Nazi groups had coordinated the "Day of Hate" on the messaging platform Telegram. 

—ADL (@ADL) February 24, 2023

On the app, the National Socialist Movement, a prominent neo-Nazi group based mainly in Iowa and California, encouraged other white supremacist groups to "send photos and videos of antisemitic rallies," the project said. 

Oren Segal, vice president of the Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism, told the Forward the ADL found out about the "Day of Hate" after monitoring extremist groups on social media for weeks. 

"It's essentially a hodgepodge of white supremacist organizations, many of which engage in on-the-ground activity like flyer distribution, banners, protests, that sort of thing," he said.

This comes as there has been a rise in antisemitic violence across the US in the past year, according to Axios, as well as an increase in racist social media posts. Jewish people have consistently been targeted in bias crimes more often than any other group in the United States, according to FBI statistics.