Hate Group Stickers Found On Street Signs In Greenwich: Police

GREENWICH, CT — Stickers carrying the slogans of hate groups have turned up on some street signs in Greenwich in recent days, prompting police Chief Jim Heavey and Connecticut region director of the Anti-Defamation League Steve Ginsburg to issue statements denouncing the acts.

As they have been discovered, the stickers have been removed by residents and town employees, but the act of placing them on signs is illegal, and Greenwich police have launched an investigation to find who is responsible.

Among the groups identified in the stickers is Patriot Front, which the Anti-Defamation League says is a white supremacist organization.

"The Greenwich Police Department unequivocally rejects hate beliefs, including statements or actions that seek to encourage bias or violence towards any persons or groups based upon race, religion, national origin, sex, sexual identity or sexual orientation," Heavey said in a statement. "We aggressively investigate crimes of hate and positively advocate for victims of such incidents. We have educated our officers on recognizing hate crimes and have partnered with groups such as the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) to provide us training."

Greenwich is not the only Fairfield County community to deal with unwanted messages plastered in public spaces. Westport police also have launched an investigation into hate signage taped to businesses in its downtown business district last weekend. The Westport messages were anti-police and anti-Trump, and police in that town have identified potential suspects.

"While these stickers may seem harmless to some, Patriot Front is a white supremacist, racist, antisemitic group whose members maintain that their ancestors conquered America and bequeathed it solely to them," said Ginsburg. "We know that Greenwich and its leaders will make clear today and every day that they reject this ideology and will fight to keep us all safe from hate and secure in our town. ADL is proud to have partnered for many years with GPD on trainings related to hate crimes, implicit bias and specifically last year – white supremacist extremism including Patriot Front. We thank GPD for investigating this incident and doing all they can to prevent ones in the future."

Anyone with information about the placement of these stickers in Greenwich is urged to contact Greenwich police tip line at TIPS@greenwichct.org.