Police Investigate Graffiti Including Trump Endorsement
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CARROLLTON (CBSDFW.COM) - When does support for Donald Trump become part of a hate crime? Some vandals in Carrollton may find out if police catch them. Investigators found anti-Mexican graffiti written all over a man's truck that also contained a message endorsing the GOP presidential candidate.
Police believe the same vandals who tagged nearby walls with graffiti are the ones who wrote racist messages all over the truck. It's been cleaned up pretty well, but you can still clearly see the word, "Trump."
Volunteers quickly cleaned the walls behind a nearby grocery store and apartment complex, but police said those targets never had the specific messages found on Lelis Alfaro's truck.
"And then it had the '666' right here, and then down at the bottom it said, 'Beaner,' and then right here, you can kind of see it. It said, 'Trump for Emporor,'" said Monica Lobos, Alfaro's daughter-in-law.
How to spell "emperor" isn't the only thing the vandals got wrong. Lobos said her family is from El Salvador, but she realizes whoever wrote "Dirty Mexican" on their truck didn't care.
"I know the message was I guess directed towards Mexicans. We're not Mexicans, but all the Hispanics, we're united," said Lobos.
Lobos translated for her father-in-law when asked how he felt when he saw the graffiti.
"He said he felt it was hate towards... Like a racist hate towards us," said Lobos translating for Alfaro.
Alfaro was having a dialysis treatment when the graffiti was discovered. He said he spent his next four-hour treatment reflecting on the attack.
"The whole time he was there, he was thinking what was going to happen now that his truck was all messed up," said Lobos translating for Alfaro.
Alfaro said he hopes the vandals are caught and stopped from doing this to anyone else.
For now, police said they don't have any specific suspects, but they will be looking for similar graffiti over weekend.
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