The three defaced murals, located in and near Underhill, featured the slogans “Black Lives Matter” and “Black Trans Lives Matter.
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According to a state police press release, a state trooper discovered that two of the murals had tire burnouts over them, while a third had been defaced with white and brown paint on Monday morning.
The full press release can be read below:
The Vermont State Police is investigating potential bias-related incidents in Jericho and Underhill in which unknown subjects damaged Black Lives Matter artwork painted on three roads in the communities.
All three incidents were discovered by a trooper on patrol Monday morning, July 6, 2020, and involved evidence that vehicles had burned out their tires over the artwork.
Two of the locations, on Browns Trace and Pleasant Valley roads, had “Black Lives Matter” painted in the roadway. At the third location, on Irish Settlement Road, “Black Trans Lives Matter” was displayed. At the Browns Trace Road location, the unknown subject(s) also threw what appears to be white and brown paint onto the artwork.
Police are investigating whether the incidents are related.
The state police have informed the Attorney General’s Office under the Bias Incident Reporting System.
The vandalism comes after similar incidents in California and Maryland had occured.
In Baltimore, chalk messages by elementary school students in support of the Black Lives Matter movement were washed away by adults, while in Northern California, two people face hate crime charges for painting over a “Black Lives Matter” roadway mural.