A sign on private property in Waldo, Maine has been defaced with a Nazi swastika. The defaced sign read “BLACK BROWN LBGQT LIVES MATTER TOO”. As residents of Waldo County we want it to be known that we reject both the content and the method of this cowardly act of hatred. We are all attacked when a neighbor is attacked in this way. We hope that only a very few people in our county would condone the defacer's behavior and message but nonetheless it is shameful for this to be associated with our community.

Posting a sign is a fundamental expression of our First Amendment rights. Defacing that sign is tantamount to spitting on the Constitution. Using a symbol of hate and bigotry and violence to do so is also an implied threat. We strongly support the message of the original sign and we support our neighbor who posted it. We invite the person who painted the swastika to come out of the shadows and post their own sign on their own property if they have something they are not too ashamed to say publicly.