Virginia Little League Complex Vandalized with ‘White Power’ Graffiti
Vandals spray-painted graffiti reading “white power” on a little league complex in Virginia, and also featured attacks on immigrants and images of Nazi swastikas, police say.
With the rash of fake hate crimes swamping the country, Henrico officials did not move to call the incident a hate crime, but an investigation into the matter is ongoing, USA Today High School Sports reported.
Saying it was “premature” to call the vandalism a hate crime, Henrico public information officer Lt. Chris Garrett noted that if their investigation “rose to that nature, we would investigate it that way.”
The graffiti appeared on the outside walls of the Tuckahoe Little League sports complex as well as inside some of the bathrooms. The facility also suffered broken sinks and smashed mirrors.
A Parks and Recreation worker discovered the damage early on Thursday morning, December 29, and it is estimated at some $5,500 in damage.
“It’s unfortunate and disturbing, but we’re actively cleaning it up,” Henrico County spokesman Will Jones said. “We’ll have it back into shape shortly. … There’s been prior vandalism and graffiti incidents but nothing of this magnitude. Usually that kind of stuff coincides with break in the school schedule, but we don’t know who’s done this. You never like to see that. The police are following it up and taking this seriously and actively investigating.”
With the clean up already underway, Jones insisted that teenage vandals likely committed this crime, and not some mysterious “hate group.”
CBS correspondent Claudia Rupcich tweeted out images of the damage.
BREAKING: Henrico police investigating vandalism at Tuckahoe Little League complex. @CBS6pic.twitter.com/2H1FbT1Dbz
— Claudia Rupcich (@ClaudiaRupcich) December 29, 2016
There is graffiti & damage inside bathrooms of Tuckahoe complex as well. Parks & Rec officials & police on scene looking at damage. @CBS6pic.twitter.com/ANg1AsAZvW
— Claudia Rupcich (@ClaudiaRupcich) December 29, 2016
CBS News also reported that some of the graffiti “graphically insulted the President elect, Donald Trump.”
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