Antisemitic graffiti and white supremacist Antisemitic graffiti and white supremacist posters were found Wednesday morning at the headquarters of the Belknap County Democratic Committee in Laconia.
Swastikas and an antisemitic slur were spray painted on the side of the group’s headquarters, and posters for white nationalist groups and advocating white nationalist conspiracies were also glued onto the windows and doors of the building.
Officers with the county Democrats say they believe they were targeted because of their recent posts on social media in solidarity with Laconia’s Jewish community and publicizing its Kristallnacht remembrance day last week. The graffiti labeled the committee “k— lovers.”
“We’re being targeted because we love our Jewish friends,” Belknap County Democratic Committee Chair Johnna Davis said.
Laconia police were called to the group’s headquarters around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday and removed the posters. Chief Matt Canfield said that, though no firm connection has been made, it is likely the vandalism is related to that found at the former Laconia State School property earlier this fall that targeted a member of the city’s Jewish community.
Canfield confirmed an investigation is underway, and the Civil Rights Unit of the state Attorney General’s Office as well as the FBI have been contacted.
“We stand strongly with our Jewish friends and will do everything to bring all law enforcement resources to bear to investigate any hate crime, including this one,” he said.
While members of the Belknap County Democrats are shaken, Gilford Chair Reva Tankle said the graffiti will not hamper the group’s advocacy.
“This is to intimidate people into not standing up and speaking out” about antisemitism, Tankle said. “It won’t work.”
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