A swastika and other white supremacist graffiti were drawn in spray paint on the side of the Church of the Nazarene in Snoqualmie June 9.
As shocking as that may have seemed to some, however, the act is actually anything but unusual. According to officials in the Valley, church vandalism is running rampant this summer.
“We’ve never had this much before and it seems to be targeting the churches,” Snoqualmie police spokeswoman Becky Munson said.
Over the month of June, Snoqualmie police received eight reports of vandalism involving white supremacist graffiti. Graffiti was spray painted both on the walls of churches and at Mount Si High School recently. A Christian bookstore in Snoqualmie was hit twice by acts of vandalism.
At the Church of the Nazarene, the graffiti read “White Power,” and “Jesus Is A Jew.” An upside-down cross and swastikas were drawn on the walls. The graffiti appeared overnight and was discovered the morning of June 9.
The vandalism at Mount Si High School happened the same night as the incident at the Church of the Nazarene. The school campus and the church are only a few blocks away. At the school, “White Power” and a swastika were sprayed on the west side of a gymnasium.
Police reviewed video surveillance taken at the school and did not see anyone performing the vandalism to the wall. Students who were seen standing near the wall at the time the graffiti was discovered were also interviewed, but were determined to not be suspects.
The incident at the bookstore happened June 21. Scriptures Christian Bookstore is located at 8150 Railroad Avenue SE. A city employee reported the incident after seeing a hole in the glass front door of the store. Inside the store was a note that read “Jesus is a Jew, White Power, Kill Religion.” The note was written on a normal-sized sheet of lined, loose-leaf notebook paper, the type with three holes punched on the side for putting in a binder. A softball-sized rock was found inside the store.
Like the other two incidents, this one happened overnight when no one was at the business.
Police believe they had a near miss with the suspect in the early morning hours of June 28. A suspicious person near St. Clare Episcopal Church at 8650 Railroad Avenue was reported to police around 1:20 a.m.
Police responded to the scene within a minute of the report, but could not find the suspect. However, the individual who witnessed the suspect described him as a white male, about 20 years old, 5 feet 8 inches tall, with a stocky build, short dark hair, wearing a black jacket and smoking.
Officers found writing on the south wall of the church. This time, the vandalism was done with a black felt pen. The vandal drew two swastikas and other markings on a white cross in front of the building, and also wrote on the south wall of the building.
The responding officer covered the graffiti with white spray paint.
That same night, the Snoqualmie United Methodist Church at 38701 SE River St. and Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church located at 39025 SE Alpha St. were tagged with graffiti. In both incidents, the same sort of white-supremacist-related text and swastikas were drawn on the churches.
On June 29, Scriptures Book Store was hit again with white supremacist graffiti written in black marker on the front window of the business. “White Power” was also written on the rear of the Snoqualmie Tribal Office, which is in the same block as the Christian bookstore.
Munson said that Snoqualmie police are looking into whether the acts of white supremacist vandalism are related to three arsons that occurred early in the morning on June 30 in downtown Snoqualmie. She said that police have found nothing so far to link the incidents.
Snoqualmie police estimate that the graffiti at the Church of the Nazarene caused $300 in damage, and the vandalism to Mt. Si High School caused $200 in damage. The other incident reports did not include estimates of damage to the other buildings that were tagged.
Police urge anyone with information on these acts to call 425-888-3333.
Reach reporter Michael Bayless Rowe at mrowe@snovalleystar.com or 392-6434, ext. 248.
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