Capitol once again defaced by spray-painted vandalism

By Adam Wilson | The Olympian • Published December 02, 2008

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For the third time this year, vandals have spray painted anti-government symbols on the front of the domed Capitol.

Youths detained near new graffiti

Two juveniles have been referred to the juvenile prosecutor after they were found near fresh graffiti in downtown Olympia on Saturday morning with a backpack full of pens and markers.

Olympia police officers responded to a call about two people in hooded sweatshirts running from a car alarm near the Olympia Farmers Market at 1:30 a.m. An officer stopped a car with two people in it who fit the description.

The officer noticed the driver had fresh paint on his hands and asked other officers to check the area for graffiti.

Several fresh tags were found and at least three businesses had been tagged numerous times, according to police. The two people in the car, both 16, admitted to tagging, according to police.

The Olympian

The sandstone building once had been immune from the graffiti that marks downtown Olympia buildings, but its columns have become a target this year. Anarchist symbols first defaced them in March, followed by another incident during a May 1 protest.

The bill to repair the latest vandalism, three marks by the bronze doors used by tourists and officials, is expected to reach $16,000.

Three-quarters of the price will be in labor costs to remove the spray paint with special chemicals, said Jim Erskine of the Department of General Administration. "It's a very time-consuming process, to remove this graffiti."

The sandstone of the Capitol is slightly porous and difficult to clean. The technique used after the first incident left the marks still visible. The state is now letting a different cleaner soak, pulling the paint out of the stone, Erskine said.

The marks were covered in wrapping Monday, after a four-day holiday weekend for most state workers. But they were discovered Wednesday evening, at the start of the break, said Sgt. Mark Arras of the Washington State Patrol. "We're doing what we can to investigate it, checking cameras," he said.

A trooper routinely patrols the Capitol Campus, but the agency again will review its methods in light of the latest incident, Arras added.

No one has been charged in connection with any of the spray-painting incidents.

Adam Wilson can be reached at 360-753-1688 or awilson@theolympian.com.