Racial slurs and insults were spray painted onto a Sacramento homeowner's fence, which had Barack Obama's name in support of the senator's presidential campaign, but the owner said he will leave the vandalized fence as it is to serve as an example of racism and prejudice.
Matt Martinez and his partner painted the pro-Obama signs on their fence two weeks ago, and it remained untouched until Monday night. Apparent white supremacist slogans and racial slurs now surround the original painting, turning heads and shocking commuters Tuesday morning.
One motorist, Marlette Zackery, was so taken aback that she drove back to capture the images on video.
"This is evidence that the problems that we have in America are racism and prejudice," she said, adding that she believes the vandalism was the result of fear.
Martinez said he and his partner knew their pro-Obama display would elicit emotion, but not vandalism. Despite the graphic nature of the slurs, he planned to leave the vandalism untouched for now, believing it would serve a bigger purpose than painting over it.
"Quite honestly, it's disgusting," he said. "But I think this is what people need to see."
Martinez hadn't called authorities, but the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department showed up to take a report, and will forward the information to bias crimes detectives to determine whether the incident can be classified as a hate crime.
Barack Obama's campaign did not comment on the vandalism, but John McCain's campaign released a statement saying, "The party denounces these acts. We want an open and fair campaign… there's no place in this election for these kinds of actions."
