BLOOMFIELD, NJ — The person or persons who spread "white nationalist" flyers around downtown Bloomfield are fighting a losing battle, officials say.

On Tuesday, Bloomfield Mayor Michael Venezia and Director of Public Safety Samuel DeMaio issued a joint statement about the sudden appearance of flyers for a group called the New Jersey European Heritage Association (NJEHA), which they identified as a "white nationalist group." Here's what Venezia and DeMaio had to say about the flyers, which several Bloomfield residents spotted in the downtown area on Friday, Feb. 22:

"In the year 2019, we understand the term 'European heritage' to be a euphemism for White nationalism, bigotry, and intolerance of everyone else. Bloomfield is a wonderful town because of its great diversity, not in spite of it, and the person or persons who posted the white nationalist flyers, disguised as 'European heritage,' are fighting a losing battle. The Bloomfield Police Department is actively investigating this incident, and takes all forms of hate speech and hate crimes extremely seriously." According to the group's website, the NJEHA identifies itself as a "grassroots organization comprised of members from the local community." On their website – which urges people to "secure the existence of our people and a future for white children" – the group criticizes "intermarriage" and "a tide of third-world immigration flooding the border," and claims that "the white European peoples in America and abroad are racing towards the cliff of extinction."

The group states: "The NJEHA believes that we must wrest political, economic and social control away from the hostile elite who have usurped power in America. We believe that when our people are presented with the facts and a plan of action, peaceful political change is possible." The New Jersey European Heritage Association is not listed as an active "hate group" on the Southern Poverty Law Center's most recent map.

See related article: Hate Groups In NJ: Map Shows Rising Total Of Racist Organizations This is a developing story. Patch will update this article if more information becomes available.