Portsmouth pushes back on overnight wave of hateful graffiti targeting Temple, businesses

PORTSMOUTH — The New Hampshire attorney general has launched an investigation following an overnight wave of hateful graffiti across the city. Targets of hate in the community included Temple Israel, a coffee shop owned by the city's assistant mayor, who is Black, and at least 13 other businesses.

Surveillance video captured on High Street by Grim North Tattoo & Piercing, also owned by a person of color, shows a masked person approaching the shop shortly before 3 a.m. Tuesday and defacing the business with spray paint. Images provided by the business show two red swastikas, one on the door and another on a window, as well as a red “X” sprayed over a sign hanging in the window reading, “You Are Loved.”

The person seen in the surveillance videos is seen wearing a hooded red sweatshirt, khaki pants and white sneakers.

Christina Sardinha Wulfe, co-owner of the business along with her husband, James Moller Wulfe, said the tattoo business displays an LGBTQ+ flag outside the building and is a regular contributor to Seacoast Outright and local drag shows, alongside other businesses targeted by the graffiti.

“We are all very upset because we’re on a lit street in downtown Portsmouth with visible cameras," Sardinha Wulfe said. "If these people are going to do this in front of cameras, in front of lights, in a busy area of downtown, what are they going to do in the alleyways? What are they going to do when we’re walking home?”

She believes her business was hit because of its clear show of support for the LGBTQ+ community and potentially because her husband is a person of color.

“My hope is that community members realize this is very dangerous, especially for our children, and that we need to come together to protect our children,” Sardinha Wulfe said. “Seeing this hate and being exposed to it is not good.”

The New Hampshire Department Justice’s Civil Rights Unit, in partnership with city police and county, state and federal law enforcement, is investigating at instances of swastikas and other graffiti being drawn on properties throughout Portsmouth, Attorney General John Formella announced Tuesday.

“This type of hateful and threatening criminal activity, motivated by racial or religious intolerance, particularly at places of worship, has no place in New Hampshire and will not be tolerated,” Formella said in a prepared statement. “We will work to find and prosecute whoever is responsible, to the fullest extent of the law.”

Portsmouth police provide update on investigation

Portsmouth Police Chief Mark Newport said at least 14 buildings and businesses in Portsmouth, including Temple Israel on State Street and St. John’s Masonic Lodge on Middle Street, had been hit by vandalism. Police had compiled images and reports of buildings defaced with images of swastikas, crosses and the Star of David.

"This graffiti consists of hate symbols including swastikas and what appears to be intentional targeting of houses of worship and political messages," Portsmouth police said in a release. "The Portsmouth Police Department takes hate-motivated crimes very seriously and is actively engaged in the investigation of this incident."

City police were not immediately certain whether the person seen on Grim North Tattoo & Piercing’s surveillance cameras acted alone.

“We don't have an exact start time but it was obviously in the overnight hours, probably from 1:30 a.m. to sometime this morning,” Newport said in an interview. “Right now from what we understand it was mostly in the downtown area.”

Investigation by the state has shown the vandalism was “largely confined to the portion of the downtown laying between Deer Street, Middle Street, and Court Street, with additional instances on Marcy Street," according to the attorney general.

Authorities are asking any residents or adjacent business owners for assistance, namely by providing any surveillance footage they have from the early Tuesday morning hours. Formella noted the events unfolded around 2:30 a.m.

“Our communities are safer and stronger when we all join together and have zero tolerance for violence motivated by hatred for our fellow citizens whether based on race, creed, or other protected characteristics,” Formella said.

Portsmouth Mayor Deaglan McEachern said the hateful acts don’t represent the beliefs of the city. Choosing to be silent in the wake of the incidents, he added, essentially takes the side of the perpetrator.

“Our community takes pride in declaring ourselves a racial justice municipality, but recently we have been a target for those that would seek to destroy the ideals we strive to live up to,” McEachern said in a prepared statement. “I want to state clearly that this has only strengthened our resolve to be the ‘City of the Open Door.’ I look forward to having the Portsmouth Police Department identify the perpetrator(s) of these crimes and bring them to justice.”

Gov. Chris Sununu responded with a prepared statement: "I have been in contact with the attorney general. State, local and federal authorities will work closely in investigating this matter. Hatred, bigotry and antisemitism will not be tolerated in New Hampshire."

Assistant mayor, who owns Cup of Joe, expresses 'utter shock'

Assistant Mayor Joanna Kelley, owner of Cup of Joe Cafe & Bar on Market Street, reported Tuesday morning a staffer arrived at 6 a.m. to open the shop and found a red swastika and cross spray painted on the front of the business. The employee took a photograph and scrubbed it off.

Kelley, who is biracial, noted her business was set to have a themed event called “Queer Night” on Tuesday evening and the barrage of hateful imagery comes as Black History Month is winding down.

“Complete and utter shock at how blatant it was,” she said of her reaction. “It wasn't hidden around the corner of the building, it wasn't on the back. It was on Market Street, the center of the community."

The business has faced online attacks before, had neo-Nazi stickers plastered onto the building and had a sign that read “Black-owned Business” that was once peeled off, Kelley added.

New show of hate comes after criminal charges in Portsmouth

The scattered incidents around Portsmouth on Tuesday come in the wake of the increased presence from the Nationalist Social Club, a recognized neo-Nazi group known as NSC-131 in New England. In Portsmouth, the group has protested a drag story hour at the Seacoast Repertory Theatre, posted group recruitment materials on residential properties and hung a sign reading “Keep New England White” over Route 1. In the latter incident, two members of the hate group, including founder Christopher Hood, were charged by the state for violating New Hampshire’s Civil Rights Act.

Previous story:Hate group members charged for racist signs in Portsmouth

Newport said police could not immediately conclude whether the hate group was behind Tuesday’s scattered incidents.

“As our community, we need to make it known that whether it's directly connected or not, this behavior, this material and a mindset like this is not OK,” Kelley said. “This is not welcomed here.”

State Sen. Rebecca Perkins Kwoka, D-Portsmouth, said lawmakers reached out to the New Hampshire attorney general’s office to ask for an investigation.

“The vandalization of homes, businesses, government buildings, and places of worship in my hometown of Portsmouth is reprehensible and has no place in New Hampshire or this country,” she said. “Tragically, such bigoted and hateful acts are now not uncommon, in this nation or in New Hampshire; these acts are a direct consequence of unchecked hate speech and rhetoric on the national stage that has gone on for far too long.”

Perkins Kwoka urged the attorney general to prosecute anyone involved.

Reacting to the news on Tuesday, City Manager Karen Conard said, “The acts were completely hateful in nature and that’s not something we support here in this city. We strongly condemn such acts.”

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Rabbi at Temple Israel calls hate symbols 'very disturbing'

Temple Israel on State Street in Portsmouth was also targeted, with a red swastika and cross painted on both the front parking lot and the front of the house of worship.

“It’s very disturbing,” said Rabba Kaya Stern-Kaufman, who contacted Portsmouth police as well as the Anti-Defamation League. She said the temple had also provided authorities with security video footage.

The temple discovered the hate vandalism at 7:30 a.m. and after notifying authorities scrubbed it off the building.

“While antisemitism is nothing new and part of our 2,000-year history, it is still very painful to see the awakening of these tropes and ideas within our Portsmouth community,” Stern-Kaufman said.

She said she will share the facts with the congregation while also stepping up security measures and vigilance at the temple.

“We need to acknowledge the pain but also recognize that we’re living in different times than we have ever seen in this country and we need to continue to strengthen our relationships with the extended Portsmouth and Seacoast communities and to build allyship. We recognize that we are not the only targets and we need to be supportive as well.”

Macro Polo owner reacts: 'No place for hate'

Popular downtown gift shop Macro Polo, also on Market Street, shared to Instagram that it also was targeted. The image posted by the store shows a spray painted Star of David next to a swastika.

“It's with great disgust and outrage that I have to share with the people of Portsmouth that there is a sick freak out there vandalizing hate on businesses, like @cupofjoenh and many others, including ourselves,” the business wrote. “There is no place for hate like this in our small community of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. To say we are disappointed is an understatement. We sincerely apologize to others affected and we will continue to state our inclusion loud and proud for all to see.”

Black Lives Matter Seacoast planning response to hateful acts

A residence on Marcy Street with “Black Lives Matter” painted along the curb to its property was defaced with a red line striking through the message, according to Clifton West, co-founder and executive director of Black Lives Matter Seacoast.

The organization had members walking around downtown Portsmouth to survey the hate symbols and was in the midst of planning a call for action stating hate has no home in the Seacoast, West said. The response is likely to be held Friday, Feb. 24. He said BLM Seacoast is planning to partner with local flower shops and have patrons go in, purchase flowers, hand them out to people on the streets of Portsmouth or in city businesses.

The goal is to spread love over hate, West said, showing the community will not be marred by the actions of one person or a few people.

“It’s very upsetting but it shows that we do have a strong white supremacist presence here in the Seacoast, specifically this Portsmouth, Hampton and Kittery area,” West said. “They are getting bolder by the month, by each day that we don't actually, as a community, stand up against it. This should be the time where we recognize that this is an issue and we really need to come together as a community, stand up against this and have these tough community-based discussions.”

Police seek public's help

Members of the public with information or footage of the incidents are asked to contact Portsmouth Police Detective Sgt. Kevin McCarthy at (603) 610-7656. Tips can be reported anonymously to Seacoast Crime Stoppers at (603) 431-1199 or 1-207-439-1199, or via seacoastcrimestoppers.org.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth NH pushes back on overnight wave of hateful graffiti