Chittenden County's top prosecutor, Sarah George, found "no crime to prosecute at this time" connected to the postings of five flyers promoting white nationalist group Patriot Front that appeared around Burlington in February, according to the detective who investigated the case.

The case is considered closed, Detective Tom Chenette wrote in a March investigation report. The Burlington Free Press obtained the report through a public records request.

Previous coverage:Pride Center, Old North End synagogue hit by 'white nationalist hate group' posters

George had not responded by publication time to a telephone message and an email requesting comment.

Posters placed near 'organizations that promote diversity'

Chenette was unable to identify who left the posters bearing statements like "better dead than red" and "America First" outside the Pride Center of Vermont, the Ohavi Zadek synagogue and the Burlington Free Press, as well as two other locations.

But he noted that the posters were placed near "organizations that promote diversity and inclusivity, which would cause a reasonable person who is a member or sympathizer of those places to feel threatened."

Free speech:Burlington KKK flyer case conviction overturned by Vermont Supreme Court

Police pulled security footage from several businesses near the posters, according to the detective's notes. The postings were likely all made at night, he wrote.

The incidents are considered "bias incidents" and reported to the Attorney General's Office, Chenette wrote.

Reporting bias incidents

Attorney General T.J. Donovan instructed local police departments to begin reporting all bias incidents to his office in January. He rolled out the initiative while announcing his office was declining to file any criminal charges in the case of former Bennington state Rep. Kiah Morris.

Morris resigned from her legislative seat last summer after receiving what Donovan described as racist harassment — but said messages received by Morris were protected by the First Amendment and failed to rise to the level of a "true threat."

Kiah Morris:The Vermont incidents that led to a black lawmaker's resignation

Burlington Deputy Police Chief Jon Murad described the Patriot Front stickers left around Burlington as vandalism in a statement in February, but police documents show that no financial damage occurred to any of the structures.

What is the Patriot Front?

A Texas man, Thomas Rosseau, founded Patriot Front in the wake of the 2017 Charlottesville "Unite the Right" rally. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups, wrote that "Patriot Front is the direct descendant of neo-Nazi group Vanguard America," in a recent intelligence report.

Patriot Front held a small demonstration in Burlington in February 2018. After the plans for the flash rally leaked, hundreds showed up in South Burlington to counter-protest.

Last month, the group shared a video of three masked people unfurling a banner with "Not stolen, conquered" and an outline of the United States from a Burlington parking garage.

Contact Jess Aloe at 802-660-1874 or jaloe@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @jess_aloe