Two members of white nationalist group face charges for defacing Olympia mural in 2021
In October of last year, a group of people recorded themselves vandalizing the anti-hate mural in downtown Olympia that reads “Respect & Love Olympia.”
They spray-painted over the phrase and its rainbow background on Fourth Avenue using stencils that had “Patriot Front” lettering on them. It’s classified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a white nationalist hate group.
Two men with known connections to Patriot Front now have been arrested and are facing charges for vandalizing the mural, the city of Olympia announced Monday.
Colton M. Brown and Spencer Simpson have been charged with a misdemeanor crime of aiding and abetting graffiti, according to the city’s news release. They will be arraigned on charges at 8 a.m. July 13. Neither are from Olympia.
The mural was created in 2014 in part as a response to violent attacks outside Jake’s, downtown Olympia’s only gay bar. City staff and community volunteers came together almost immediately to repaint the mural. It was then boarded up and fenced off to protect it until plans were made for the building’s future as an affordable housing site.
The building has since been demolished to make way for the housing project, and there’s an active petition to bring the mural back, as well as charge several other members of Patriot Front with crimes related to defacing the mural.
In the news release, Olympia Police Chief Rich Allen said the department used community information and open-source social media and websites to help identify those involved in the crime. He said the department is still working to identify others involved.
“I appreciate the work of the investigators, and the community members who stepped forward to assist in the investigation,” Allen said in the release. “Acts like these have no place in Olympia. We will always investigate these kinds of incidents, and we will always work to hold those responsible to account in a court of law.”
This story was originally published July 11, 2022 at 11:03 AM.
.jpg)