Teachers and faculty at a Spanish-language immersion school in Sonoma County were “shaken” after a still-at-large vandal spray-painted pro-Donald Trump graffiti reading “build the wall higher” on the walls of the educational facility.
“I was angered by it when I first heard it,” Principal Jeanne Acuña of the Cali Calmecac Language Academy in Windsor, told the San Francisco Chronicle. “It was like a gut punch. It was an emotional moment, to say the least. It felt like, ‘Why would someone come to my house and do this to my kids?'” the educator of 25 years said.
The vandal had also spray-painted dozens of other references to Trump. The Chronicle reports that “about 75 percent of students at the K-8 school are Latino, and for the older students especially, the vandalism comes as a real-life symbol of anti-immigrant election rhetoric that this time hit much too close to home, Acuña said.”
Trump has consistently touted his plan to enforce a strict legal immigration policy in order to curb illegal immigration into the United States. He has also stated that he is an advocate for legal immigration. His own wife, Melania, is a legal immigrant herself.
The Windsor Police Department is reportedly investigating the incident and an insurer for the school is offering a $500 reward for any information leading to an arrest and conviction of the person or people involved in the incident.
Security cameras did not capture the attack. Windsor Police Department Chief Carlos Basurto reportedly called the incident “offensive and disrespectful,” and added that “It is extremely upsetting that the children had to be subjected to such hatred and bigotry.”
On Wednesday morning, Trump’s star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame was defaced Wednesday morning by a man named James Otis, 53, who said he “was just so fed up, so saddened and fed up by Mr. Trump.” Otis was arrested Thursday morning.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, a representative from the Sonoma County Republican Party was not immediately able to return a request for comment. However, the publication ran part of a statement made by Chair Edelweiss Geary wrote on their website, implying a double-standard when it comes to perception of the Republican presidential nominee: “Donald Trump did not become a racist until he ran for President. Before that everyone of whatever color loved him and wanted his money.”
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