White-Power Graffiti Found on NYC Subway Car at Columbus Circle, Police Say

COLUMBUS CIRCLE, NY — An elderly man riding a northbound 1 train discovered homophobic and racist slurs written on the walls and the door of the subway car Saturday evening, according to the New York City Police Department (NYPD).

The man reported the offensive graffiti to the train's conductor, and the NYPD got involved shortly after, police said.

Swastikas were found drawn in black marker, police said, along the following statements: "White Power," "Finally we have a white man in the White House," "White women deserve breast cancer," "Homosexuality is a white man's disease," "Pray that Obama's daughter gets raped" and "Pray that Michelle Obama gets cancer."

The train's conductor discovered the graffiti when he searched the train at the 59th Street-Columbus Circle subway station, police said. The train had previously been stationed at a maintenance yard at 240th Street in the Bronx.

The NYPD has yet to make any arrests in connection to the incident.

On Nov. 15, the city's five district attorneys, one from each borough, released a joint statement on the rise in hate crimes in New York City and the nation after the Nov. 8 presidential election. The DAs said they would vigorously prosecute hate crimes in the city.

Their statement came on the heels of numerous hate crimes reported around the city, including one of a Trump supporter punching a woman in the face after a political argument; a swastika painted in a Jewish section of Crown Heights; and a man attacked in the Bronx for wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat.

New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo has since set up a hotline to report hate crimes in the city. New Yorkers can call 1-888-392-3644 to make a report.

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