By John Burton |
HIGHLANDS – Swastikas and white supremacist rhetoric are not limited to recent events in Charlottesville, Virginia, with one appearing in the borough over the weekend.
An approximately 6-inch rock painted with a Nazi swastika symbol and the words “white power,” were discovered on Sunday afternoon at the borough’s Robert D. Wilson Community Center, 22 Snug Harbor Ave., according to Acting Police Chief Robert Burton.
The rock was first discovered by a citizen who reported it to the police, Burton said. A photo of it began being circulated on social media, shortly after- wards, according to police.
Police are conducting an investigation and have
informed the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office about it.
HIGHLANDS – Swastikas and white supremacist rhetoric are not limited to recent events in Charlottesville, Virginia, with one appearing in the borough over the weekend.
An approximately 6-inch rock painted with a Nazi swastika symbol and the words “white power,” were discovered on Sunday afternoon at the borough’s Robert D. Wilson Community Center, 22 Snug Harbor Ave., according to Acting Police Chief Robert Burton.
The rock was first discovered by a citizen who reported it to the police, Burton said. A photo of it began being circulated on social media, shortly after- wards, according to police.
Police are conducting an investigation and have
informed the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office about it.
However, Burton continued, “As offensive as it is to some people, it doesn’t rise to the level of a crime,” under the state Office of Attorney General’s guidelines on bias incidents and crimes.
The prosecutor’s office hasn’t had other recent reports of similar incidents and in general hasn’t seen an increase in such activity, according to Charles Webster, a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office.
The Nazi-symbol rock was found a day after violence erupted in Charlottesville when various so-called “alt-right” groups violently clashed with counter-protesters, dominating the weekend’s news coverage.
The prosecutor’s office hasn’t had other recent reports of similar incidents and in general hasn’t seen an increase in such activity, according to Charles Webster, a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office.
The Nazi-symbol rock was found a day after violence erupted in Charlottesville when various so-called “alt-right” groups violently clashed with counter-protesters, dominating the weekend’s news coverage.
This article was first published in the Aug. 17-24, 2017 print edition of The Two River Times.
