Flagler Beach Police are investigating a campaign sign vandalized with an antisemitic message at an early voting site.
U.S. Rep. Randy Fine, one of four Jewish Republican members of the House, says he received a photo of a yard sign outside the early voting site at the Wickline Senior Center the morning of Aug. 10. The photo shows a Fine for Congress sign vandalized with a swastika.
Fine said in a news release his campaign has been in touch with the city to discuss law enforcement action.
Flagler Beach Police told The News-Journal an officer is investigating, but had not yet produced a police report as of late morning Aug. 11.
What is the significance of the swastika symbol?
The swastika was used by German Nazis in the years leading up to, and including, World War II, when nearly 6 million Jews were executed in a genocide referred to as the Holocaust. In “Mein Kampf,” German dictator Adolf Hitler wrote the swastika represents “the mission of the struggle for the victory of the Aryan man,” also defining that struggle as “antisemitic.”
“Today I saw what Germany looked like in 1933,” Fine said in the news release. “Someone stepped onto government property, at a polling place, no less, to post the ultimate symbol of Nazism and Jew hatred.”
Fine is campaigning for the Aug. 18 Republican primary in Florida’s 6th District, which includes all of Flagler and Putnam counties, plus parts of Volusia, St. Johns, Lake and Marion counties. His challengers are Manuel Asensio, Aaron Baker, Dan Bilzerian and Charles Gambaro.
Randy Fine says opponent ‘and his supporters’ responsible
Fine − who won an April 1, 2025, special election and is endorsed by President Donald Trump − blamed one of his campaign opponents for the vandalism. Fine says the swastika’s intent is to intimidate and frighten voters.
“We should not be surprised. Dan Bilzerian, a resident of Las Vegas, Nevada, has been allowed to come into our state and spend millions of dollars calling for a second Holocaust, stating that he would ‘sign up tomorrow to kill Israelis,’ and that ‘Jewish supremacy is the greatest threat in the world today,'” Fine said.
In recent posts on X, Bilzerian has attacked Fine and Jews, posting:
Bilzerian offers Fine a $10 million bet
Bilzerian, a social-media influencer and businessman, says he has put up $1 million, and is also being supported by political committees, allowing him to outspend Fine on ads claiming Fine voted against the SAVE Act, a bill requiring voters to show primary forms of identification, such as a passport or birth certificate, when registering to vote. The SAVE Act has been a priority for pro-Trump Republicans, but has failed to pass the U.S. Senate.
Fine has repeatedly voted for the SAVE Act, but news reports have shown how he has voted against procedural House rules, including one involving the bill in protest of a White House advisor, according to the news website NOTUS, which cited three unnamed sources.
Bilzerian referred to Fine with a slur for intellectual disabilities and said Fine is “panicking” because Bilzerian has outspent Fine on their mailer-ad campaigns.
“He’s panicking because he thinks he’s going to lose,” Bilzerian said. “And so he’s trying to Hail Mary like, oh, it’s swastika.”
Bilzerian said there is “zero proof” he vandalized Fine’s sign, and in a Vegas-style political move, he’s willing to bet on it.
“I’ll offer $10 million to his $100,000. How about that? I’ll tell him to put his money where his (expletive) mouth is,” Bilzerian said. “If they can provide one shred of evidence, anything whatsoever that I did this, I’ll pay him $10 million. If not, he’s going to pay me $100,000.”
As a Nevada resident, Bilzerian is allowed to run for the Florida congressional seat, but should he win, he must prove residency in Florida to represent the 6th District.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Flagler Beach Police investigate swastika on Fine’s political sign
Reporting by Mark Harper, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Mark Harper, Daytona Beach News-Journal | USA TODAY Network
