Pittsburgh city officials say police are increasing their patrols around religious institutions in some areas following a third day of threatening and hateful messages broadcast over a public safety radio channel.
“ I just want people to know that we are on it. We won’t tolerate it,” said City Councilor Anthony Coghill, who chairs council’s public safety committee. “Threatening calls like that have no place in the city of Pittsburgh or society in general.”
Coghill called the messages “disturbing” and emphasized that they are under investigation. “Threats made of any sort or type, toward whether it be the mayor or a council member or public in general, we take very seriously.”
The messages began mid-afternoon Monday, and continued intermittently through Tuesday. They have included Nazi propaganda, references to the conflict in Iran, and threats against Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor as well as city sports facilities. They also praised the 2018 mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill.
Another round of messages was broadcast Wednesday morning. In contrast with the earlier transmissions, they included racist slurs rather than antisemitic messages, and did not sound computer-generated.
The messages appear to be pre-recorded, and feature Nazi propaganda, references to the conflict in Iran, and threats towards Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor. Federal and local agencies are investigating, while public safety communications have been shifted to a secure platform.
City Councilor Barb Warwick told WESA that police in Zone 4, which encompasses much of the city’s East End, are ramping up patrols around religious institutions. She noted that the Jewish holiday of Purim took place earlier this week and the Muslim observance of Ramadan is ongoing. Warwick said the incidents are “another example of the spike in antisemitism” seen worldwide in incidents like the arson at Gov. Josh Shapiro’s mansion and the Bondi Beach mass shooting in Australia.
Cara Cruz, a spokesperson for Pittsburgh’s public safety department, acknowledged that patrols had been increased around religious institutions and schools starting last weekend, though she cited “events in the Middle East,” where the United States has undertaken an aerial bombardment campaign of Iran.
“The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh is aware of this troubling incident,” Jewish Federation spokesperson David Heyman said in a statement. “We have faith in the investigation, and will monitor its progress.”
The messages appear to have been transmitted on a frequency used by city police in Zones 3 and 6. Officials with Allegheny County, which oversees the emergency radio system, said Tuesday that the system was “not hacked,” and that an “unknown user” accessed the analog radio system to transmit the messages.
County police safety spokesperson Jim Madalinsky said the Allegheny County Police and the FCC are assisting Allegheny County Emergency Services in investigating the incidents. He confirmed that public safety officials who typically use the frequency have temporarily been moved to a secure channel, and said emergency operations and responses have not been impacted.
A county statement said Tuesday afternoon that the individual involved was “not using a county or city registered radio,” though a spokesman said police would not disclose the methods used for making that determination. Cruz confirmed to WESA that the origin of the radio traffic is not a lost, stolen or missing City of Pittsburgh Public Safety Radio.