Authorities are on high alert after signs bearing the website of the white supremacist group Patriot Front were discovered outside two Black-owned businesses in Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard.
Cape and Islands District Attorney Robert Galibois says he informed all 22 district police chiefs while collaborating with Massachusetts State Police detectives to address this matter.
“If you observe any of these signs on public property or private property without the owner’s permission, then please notify your local police department,” the DA’s office posted.
The Oak Bluffs Police Department is also currently looking for whoever posted the signs, officials say.
Related: White Nationalist Group Patriot Front Accused of Violating the Ku Klux Klan Act In New Lawsuit After Allegedly Vandalizing Businesses and Public Property In North Dakota
Oak Bluffs Police Chief Jonathan Searle said the three signs were spotted on Sunday, Sept. 3, in the historically Black community and have since been removed. The signs were found at the intersection of Dukes County Avenue and Siloam Avenue, near the Black-owned businesses Biscuits and Eleven Circuit Avenue Restaurant and Bar.
Two of them were featured on the department’s website.
One sign said “AMERICA FIRST” in big, bright red letters over the blue lettering of the organization’s website address. The other sign said, “STRONG FAMILIES, STRONG NATIONS” in the same colors. This sign included a blue sketch of a child, a woman, and a man. This sign also featured the group’s web address.
On Tuesday, Searle said a fourth sign was discovered at Circuit Avenue Extension, and the department is engaged in “an active and thorough investigation.”
Arthur Hardy-Doubleday said he was walking to brunch when he saw the signs promoting the group and called Oak Bluffs Police. However, he said he was disappointed with the agency’s “lackluster response.”
“The officer who answered…
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