A Maine church was vandalized on Saturday night with the words “Abortion Is Our Human Right” and “Queer Love 4 Eva,” News Center Maine reported.
The vandals also covered a sign in red paint that hangs on the side of Second Baptist Church in Palermo, which previously read, “Abortion is Murder.”
“This is an escalation of violence against the church,” state Rep. Katrina Smith, who is also a member of Second Baptist, said of the crime on Tuesday.
The church has previously been a target of vandalism, according to the report.
“In 2019, someone rearranged the letters in the sign reading ‘Jesus made Adam N Eve not Adam and Steve.’ And before this week’s vandalism, another bucket of paint spilled over the anti-abortion sign,” the report states.
Smith told the outlet that she felt “it’s a hate crime.”
Is this how civilized people speak against people who have a different view? Have you ever seen a Christian group in…
Posted by Representative Katrina Smith on Sunday, September 10, 2023
“This is a group of young children, families, just local people, and they have done nothing to speak out against any of the issues right now,” Smith said.
Pastor Joshua Barnes spoke about the vandalism during his service on Sunday morning and asked for forgiveness for the vandals during his morning prayer, the Maine Wire reported.
“They parked out of camera range and walked in in the dark,” Barnes said. “That’s typically what cowards do.”
“We’ll find out who it is,” he said. “I’m sure it’s somebody local.”