Late Tuesday night in Greenville, Mississippi, authorities responded to a call reporting a fire at Hopewell Baptist Church, where they discovered the words “Vote Trump” spray painted along the side of the building. The crime is currently under investigation by the FBI.
From the FBI on the Greenville Church incident. More to come. pic.twitter.com/LAxrsnHxLz
— Therese Apel (@TRex21) November 2, 2016
A GoFundMe page has been established to raise funds toward the repair of the church. If this incident is found to be a hate crime, it will be another in a growing epidemic of vandalism against black institutions. The impact of this hateful rhetoric spewed by Donald Trump throughout the presidential campaign has emboldened extremists and hate groups, and garnered the Republican nominee an endorsement from the Ku Klux Klan’s official newspaper. In alignment with his campaign slogan to “make America great again,” Klan cells across the country have also been distributing flyers, urging voters to “take” their country back on Election Day.
KKK fliers left in Madison neighborhood solicit votes for upcoming presidential #election #vote pic.twitter.com/ibOTJFeakT
— Christina Ailsworth (@christinawzdx) October 31, 2016
We will be keeping an eye on this story as the investigation unfolds.
