Swastika Graffiti Concerns McCloud Community

Many people have expressed outrage and concern about a series of hate symbol graffiti incidents throughout the McCloud area, reporting them to law enforcement as “the worst kind” of vandalism affecting the community.

On Tuesday, May 6th, a blue swastika was discovered on a street sign at the corner of the McCloud Water Street apartments. The following day, Wednesday, May 7th, additional swastikas were found on the McCloud library building and on adjacent storage units. The storage unit owner reported that the vandalism occurred just outside the range of surveillance cameras.

The incidents began in early May, when residents reported seeing swastikas spray-painted in green on National Forest Service signs at the McCloud Reservoir and at Snowmobile Park up Pilgrim Creek Road just outside of McCloud.

McCloud High School also fell victim to the vandalism when staff discovered a swastika sprayed onto the school’s van Wednesday morning. A subsequent search of school grounds revealed another swastika on the back of the school’s athletic sign.

Amy Bourke, the school’s secretary, has been reviewing surveillance footage to identify potential suspects. “It makes me really sad that someone is vandalizing things in our town. Even more so that they did it to our school van,” Bourke said. “This almost prevented our golf team from making the golf tournament today, but thankfully, our maintenance guy Todd was able to cover it so they could still take the van.”

The vandalism goes beyond local property damage, not only is this vandalism a crime. Damaging a National Forest Service sign makes it a federal crime as well.

Public Relations Officer Sage Milestone emphasized the community impact: “This makes people feel unsafe. We are working with the Forest Service because some are in their jurisdiction and they are very upset about this as well. Our officers are working together with the community to find this person or persons responsible for this.”

Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office released an official statement: “The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office is actively investigating the rash of hateful vandalism around the McCloud area. We do not want anyone to feel unwelcome or unsafe in their communities, homes, schools, or recreation areas, and our Office is determined to locate the individuals responsible.”

Anyone with information regarding these incidents is urged to contact the Sheriff’s Department at (530) 841-2900 or via the anonymous tip line on the department’s website.