UPDATE: Black Lives Matter Banners Repeatedly Stolen From Cherry Hill Church

Cherry Hill, NJ -- Camden County Freeholder Jonathan Young Sr. addressed recent incidents in which three “Black Lives Matter” banners were stolen from outside the Unitarian Universalist Church on Kings Highway in Cherry Hill on Tuesday evening.

“To the cowards that attempted to send a message of hate and intolerance by ripping down the ‘Black Lives Matter’ banners from the Unitarian Universalist Church in Cherry Hill, not once but twice, we have a message for you,” Young said in the statement. “Our commitment to discuss this issue is stronger, and our conviction to hold this important conversation has been reinforced and this dialogue is even more timely based on these obscene actions. Your hate crime is not going to stop us from addressing the current climate of race in America today at a public forum Thursday evening. Instead of cowardly vandalizing a church, you should attend the forum and learn something.”

Three banners have been stolen in the last two weeks. The public forum takes place at the church on Thursday night, Feb. 25, 7 p.m.

The two most recent signs were discovered missing around 8 a.m. Sunday, and the structure that was holding them was damaged, according to philly.com. A new banner has been put up, but this one is drilled into the wooden braces that hold it.

A picture of the new sign was posted on the Unitarian Universalist Church’s Facebook page, with the most recent post accompanied by the words “Back in Business.”

Each post has been met with comments from Facebook readers calling the event and the church “racist.” The church responds to those readers by inviting them to Thursday night’s forum to discuss the issue.

The church has also received “antagonistic” emails regarding the event, the Courier Post reports.

However, Cherry Hill Police told philly.com they’re treating the missing signs as thefts, and maintained there are no deep-rooted racial issues in Cherry Hill.

The attached image was posted on the Unitarian Universalist Church’s Facebook page.