A Kentucky county’s Democratic Party headquarters was vandalized with graffiti over the weekend that disparaged Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).
News outlet WDRB reports the Jefferson County Democratic Party was vandalized with white spray paint Sunday that included the messages “TREASON DEM,” “WITCH HUNT” and “RACIST AOC.”
{mosads}The building serves as the headquarters for the Louisville Democratic Party, which is located in Jefferson County. The group issued a statement Sunday condemning the vandalism.
“This kind of hate filled graffiti is an unfortunate symptom of today’s environment where folks won’t come together for honest debate and discourse. Free speech is about buying a billboard with your options, not vandalizing a building with graffiti,” the statement read.
“We are not intimidated by this act and it only serves to strengthen our resolve in standing up for true democracy.”
The Kentucky Republican Party also put out a statement condemning the hateful messages.
“We condemn vandalism — it is never acceptable. While rhetoric and tensions may run high, especially in an election year, there are far more constructive ways for people to express their views,” the statement read, according to WDRB.
The graffiti comes after President Trump in a series of tweets lashed out at “the squad,” made up of Ocasio-Cortez and Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.).
After setting off a media firestorm and facing accusations of racism for telling the four lawmakers to “go back” to “the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came,” Trump doubled down and called them a “racist group of troublemakers.”
The four minority progressive lawmakers are all U.S. citizens and three of them were born in the country. Only Omar was born elsewhere, as she came to the U.S. at the age of 12 as a refugee after fleeing Somalia.
The “witch hunt” message on the building is a reference to what Trump often calls former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
The news outlet reports Louisville Metro Police Department is investigating the vandalism.