Vermont State Police said Thursday they are searching for a suspect who painted anti-Black Lives Matter graffiti on a private home and vehicle in Jericho.
According to the police report, the letters “BLM” with a strikethrough were painted on the north side of the Route 15 residence and on the driver’s side door of the car.
State police said they have notified the Vermont Attorney General’s Office about the incident for possible investigation as a hate crime.
The incident occurred in what police called a high-traffic area, making it possible for “the offender(s) to apply the graffiti quickly” and then leave. There is no camera coverage of the site, nor were there any “known witnesses or suspects.”
In a Facebook post, a neighbor of the person whose home was vandalized said that a Black Lives Matter sign displayed in front of the home had recently been stolen. The neighbor, Brian Walsh, said the vandalism occurred Wednesday night.
A few hours after his initial post, Walsh uploaded photos of displays of support from surrounding neighbors for the target of the vandalism. “When racists attack your car and home, what do you do? Stand up, fight back. Proud of my neighbors,” he wrote.
VTDigger reached out to Walsh for further comment but received no response.
State police spokesperson Adam Silverman asked for the public’s help in trying to identify a suspect.
“For anyone in the public who has information about it, or even if someone who may have been driving by with a dash cam that might have captured anything in that area around that time, they should contact the Williston barracks,” Silverman told VTDigger.
Anyone with information can call the Vermont State Police barracks in Williston at 802-878-7111 or submit an online tip anonymously at vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.
