A store selling Donald Trump merchandise in Vernon, Connecticut, was vandalized in the early morning hours of October 21 with spray paint and “urine manure spray.”
At New England for Trump, a store selling Trump-themed hats, flags, t-shirts, and more, the vandals reportedly spraypainted the words “fascist” and “Nazi” on the outside of the building, along with images of genitalia before leaving, store manager Ken Krajewski told Boston.com.
Krajewski said that prior to the incident, two people came into the store on Sunday and sprayed a liquid that smelled like urine on the hats before running away. The same two people returned that evening to vandalize the store further, he said.
Newsweek reached out to New England for Trump, the Vernon Police Department, and the Trump campaign via email for comment.
The store is part of a chain with locations in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Georgia and Texas. The Vernon location has been open since August.
Donald Trump merchandise being sold at the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. A store selling Trump merchandise was recently vandalized in Connecticut.
Matt Rourke/Associated Press
Vernon Police Lieutenant Robert Marra said that the department was investigating the matter on Wednesday but did not provide further details, according to The New Haven Register.
The store reportedly re-opened on Tuesday. The manager said that multiple people in the community have called to offer their assistance in cleaning up the vandalism.
Describing the damage done to the store, Krajewski told Hartford news station WFSB, “I cleaned most of it off with some cleaner and a scraper. I covered it up with some flags until we figure it out.”
The spray-painted words “fascist” and “Nazi” may be in reference to Trump’s former chief of staff, John Kelly’s allegations that, while president, Trump said he needed “generals like Adolf Hitler had” and praised the dictator’s leadership.
Kelly also alleged that Trump said he saw “good things” that Hitler did during his dictatorship and said that he believed the former president was a “fascist.”
Trump responded to Kelly’s claims in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday in which he called him a “lowlife” with “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
Police in Massachusetts are investigating after yard signs in support of Harris, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, and Democratic Representative Jim McGovern were set on fire last week.
The man who owned the vandalized signs, Blaine Bershad, wrote on Facebook: “It was just a few signs, easily replaced. The point is clear the signs are about free speech. This act shows a lack of respect for other’s opinions as well as other’s properties.”
“We feel threatened, wouldn’t you? This is how it starts. Fascism is alive in Sterling, Massachusetts,” he added.
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