Vandals tagged Waypoint Park with racist graffiti and swastikas over the weekend, according to the city of Bellingham.
Bellingham Public Works crewmembers were able to remove the graffiti immediately after it was reported, Bellingham Mayor Seth Fleetwood told Cascadia Daily News.
Fleetwood said the city is still gathering more information on the antisemitic graffiti.
“Obviously, it’s unacceptable,” Fleetwood said. “It’s an abomination, and against all the values we hold dear.”
This comes after incidents at Western Washington University, when Islamophobic and antisemitic rhetoric was found on campus in October, along with anti-gay, anti-trans and anti-Black vandalism in residence halls.
“We are not alone in dealing with an increase in antisemitic messages and vandalism, as we are seeing more instances of it locally and nationally,” Fleetwood said. “This is all the more reason to remove it swiftly and loudly proclaim that these hateful actions are unacceptable. The moment this came to the city’s attention, we sent crews to clean it. These statements have no place in our city, where we welcome and respect all people.”
Cascadia Daily News will update this story if more information becomes available.
