Mayor, Common Council, Madison Police Department Joint Statement on Recent Acts of Vandalism

Last night a business in our community was vandalized and sprayed with Islamophobic graffiti. This is the second incidence of hate-related vandalism in the past 48 hours and comes on top of a string of troubling Islamophobic and antisemitic incidents over the past months. While the City is strongly committed to protecting the right to engage in protected political speech, there can be no tolerance for crossing the line into criminal conduct that harms members of our community. Hate is not welcome here, and the City will put all of our resources towards investigating this and any incident that crosses that line. We will continue to update the community if and when more details emerge. 

“Our community must not give in to hate, ignorance, or intimidation,” said Mayor Rhodes-Conway. “No matter our background we must all come together to support each other, especially in moments of crisis.”

“The Common Council joins the Mayor and all of Madison in condemning this attack in the strongest possible terms,” said Acting Council President Figueroa-Cole. “Hate has no home in Madison, and we must not let it take root here.”

“The Madison Police Department joins the Mayor’s Office and our City Council in affirming that hate is not tolerated in our community,” said Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes. “MPD takes these reports seriously, and we work closely with our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners when referring charges.  We also believe that all residents and visitors of our community should have the right to feel safe on our streets, at their businesses, and in their homes. I urge everyone to help us with that by reporting potential crimes of hate or bias to us immediately.”