HIGHLAND PARK, Mich. — The Highland Park water tower has been covered with graffiti tied to the white supremacy group Patriot Front. The coverings include the group's website link and the phrase "America First."
The new graffiti lays on top of the previously spray painted phrase, "Free Palestine."
The Anti-Defamation League classifies Patriot Front as "a white supremacist group" that "seeks to form a new state, one that advocates for the 'descendants of its creators,' namely white men."
“Highland Park has never been a hateful community. Everybody always got along with one another because it’s close-knit, 2.3 miles long," lifelong Highland Park resident Chico Hamilton said. “It doesn’t make you feel good. It’s a bad feeling to know people think that way still."
The Highland Park water tower belongs to the city but technically sits within Detroit city borders. It overlooks the crossroads of I-75 and Davison Freeway, which is a busy area with lots of cars and eyes.
"A lot of freeway traffic and everybody’s going to come downtown this week for the Grand Prix, so it’s not a good look," Hamilton said.
Some Highland Park residents aren't bothered by the sight.
“It’s probably meant to spark some type of controversy," Highland Park resident Brendon Morgan said. “It is what it is. It’s always been people like that.”
Others, including Highland Park Mayor Glenda McDonald said, say that racist rhetoric has no home in Highland Park.
"The plan is to remove it as quickly as possible," McDonald said. "Highland Park does not support any kind of racism or hate."
McDonald said she was notified of the graffiti Thursday but has heard that it's been up a few days. The city is now looking into setting up surveillance cameras around the city property, even though the water tower is in Detroit city lines.
"Once we find out who did this, they will be be prosecuted," McDonald said.
The Highland Park Police Department says they will be increasing patrol on the property and implementing other security measures.
