FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The sight is jarring. A Ukrainian flag hung on a man’s garage is vandalized in a quiet Fort Lauderdale neighborhood.
The incident happened around 11:30 p.m. Saturday night. A neighbor told Local 10 News off-camera that her son and others witnessed a man get out of a Range Rover SUV and spray paint swastikas, the word “Azov,” and a symbol associated with Azov, a volunteer unit of Ukraine’s National Guard that’s been criticized for embracing neo-Nazi ideals.
Police responded to the home along Northeast 18th Terrace Saturday night where officers found multiple swastikas spray-painted on the garage door.
A neighbor told Local 10 News they confronted the suspect who ran away before police got there. The man took off with a female passenger, but not before witnesses were able to take down his license plate and call 911.
The man who lives inside the house declined to speak on camera, but he told Local 10 News that he has no immediate plans to paint over the hate.
Ron Miller, a neighbor, said the homeowner told him: “I think I really wanna leave it. I wanna leave it a few weeks because I want people to see what happened.” Miller said he supports his neighbor’s decision.
“The hate in this country and the world is just terrible,” Miller said.
Anyone with information about the suspect’s identity is asked to call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.