Swastikas Spray-Painted On Congressman's Campaign Sign

A North Jersey congressman is speaking out after one of his campaigns was defaced with swastikas and other profanities in a fifth district town recently.

A campaign sign for Rep. Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5th) was spray-painted with swastikas, vulgar language, and penises.

Colleen Murch and Adam Stolarsky's garage door and a Weichert realty sign were also defaced in a similar way. The campaign sign and the garage door were at Colleen Murch's and Adam Stolarsky's Hampton Township home in Sussex County. They discovered the vandalism Saturday morning, NorthJersey.com reported.

Gottheimer, who is Jewish, is a first-term congressman from Wyckoff. He released a statement regarding the vandalism:

"There’s no place for white supremacists or anti-Semitism in our broader community, and this vile hate-motivated crime certainly does not reflect the values of the people of Sussex County. I’m grateful to law enforcement for their quick response."

Stolarsky, who is also Jewish, told NorthJersey.com that he “never expected to find a swastika painted on my house any day in my lifetime. We don’t think this is targeted at anyone."

NJ State Police responded and took a report on the vandalism, according to the report.

Scott McCann, a powerful lawyer from Oakland, is running against Gottheimer. McCann released a statement regarding the vandalism.

"There is no room for racism in our politics, in our state or in our country. As we saw with the Democratic Sheriff of Bergen County, who endorsed Gottheimer, racism cannot be tolerated, McCann said. "The anti-Semitic actions in Sussex county are abhorrent. It is truly unfortunate that this is the second time this happened to the congressman right before an election." (See related: Bergen Sheriff Quits After He's Caught Making Racist Remarks)

Stolarsky also told NorthJersey.com that is appears someone tried to enter his garage.

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com

Photos: The Rep. Josh Gottheimer campaign sign, realtor signs, and a garage door spray-painted with swastikas, penises, and other profane language. (Courtesy of Josh Gottheimer for Congress)