Wallingford Man Paints Swastika on Fence in Housing Dispute

Wallingford, CT — A Wallingford man has painted a swastika on his fence as part of an ongoing dispute with a local developer, according to the New Haven Register.

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Luther Turmelle of the Register reports that New Cheshire Road resident Steven Yost, upset over promises he says weren’t kept by Sunwood Development owner Bob Wiedenmann, painted the swastika on a rear fence that faces what will be the back yards of three planned new homes.

Yost told Turmelle that he told Wiedenmann that he would do something that would cost him the sale of the three houses and that he’s using his freedom of speech and that he might put up more swastikas.

Police said that the symbol alone doesn’t constitute a hate crime, Turmelle reports, and that without a verbal utterance or gesture that indicates the possibility of violence, Yost isn’t violating any laws.

Read more at the New Haven Register here.