Racist Signs Taped On Door Of Predominantly Black Dumfries Church

DUMFRIES, VA — Authorities are looking for whoever taped a couple of signs with racist imagery and words on the front door of a church sometime before Sunday services, according to police in Dumfries and Prince William County. After seeing the signs, church officials at the Greater Praise Temple Ministries, 17838 Main St., contacted police.

The small church has a mostly African-American congregation, and that apparently made for a ripe target. One of signs had an image from a German satire magazine, Der Spiegel, with President Donald Trump depicted as a Klu Klux Klan member, as well as a Confederate flag. On the other sign, someone drew swastikas and wrote: Fourth Reich. (For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts. Also, like us on Facebook, and if you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

The notes mentioned "white power," said the "day of the rope is coming," and included swastika and Confederate flag images. Dumfries Police Chief Nicholas Esposito told WTOP that investigators are reviewing area security camera footage in hopes of finding a suspect. “It’s just not going to be tolerated; that’s not the community that the town of Dumfries has,” Esposito said.

Eric Thompson, minster of music at the church, said posting the hateful notes was a cowardly act. He told WTOP that this is the first such incident the church has experienced, but since word spread of the message, church officials have received support from the community.

Photo: Greater Praise Temple Ministries