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Early Thursday evening, white, painted swastikas were spotted on several trees outside the Taft Community Center in Orlando, one of the county’s 27 early voting sites, according to the Orange County Supervisor of Elections Karen Castor Dentel.
Castor Dentel found the symbols of Nazi Germany’s systematic persecution and murder during a site visit.
She denounced the symbols in a press release sent Friday afternoon and said her office was coordinating with Orange County officials to remove the symbols quickly.
“These symbols represent a history of hatred, antisemitism, and violence. Their presence in our community is deeply disturbing and unacceptable,” Castor Dentel said in her press statement. “Hatred has no place in our community, and it has no place in our elections. No one should have to encounter symbols of hate and wonder whether they are welcome or safe in the place where they live, work, vote, or participate in their community.”
It’s not yet known who is responsible. Orange County Sheriff's Office is investigating the incident.
This is the third unsettling event to occur during Florida’s early voting period, which runs through Nov. 1.
About 10 days ago in Monroe County, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents who were trying to pull over a suspect, apprehended him after the man turned his car into the parking lot of a polling location. Keys Weekly reported that Monroe County Supervisor of Elections Sherri Hodies received a call from an upset voter “who couldn’t believe there were armed officers on the property of an early voting site.
“The mere presence of armed Border Patrol agents outside a polling place is expressly prohibited by federal law as shown in 18 U.S.C. 592 during elections,” Hodies said, adding that the presence of Border Patrol agents “clearly goes against the promises we received as elections officials in the months preceding these elections.”
The day before, in Leon County, two Customs and Border Patrol vehicles pulled into the county’s busiest early voting location, stopped for about 10 minutes, then left. No complaints were received from voters, but Leon County Supervisor of Elections Mark Early filed a formal complaint with the FBI.
Eventually, the FBI was able to determine that these agents typically worked in South Florida but had been put on assignment out of state. The Leon County Supervisor of Elections followed up with this update:
“As they were traveling north out of the state on US Hwy 319, the agents approached our NE Library early voting location and realized they were leaving Florida and would not be present on Election Day. The NE Library voting site is the last voting location on US Hwy 319 before leaving Florida. Mistakenly, the agents thought they could vote at that location, which is incorrect since they were not Leon County voters. Upon realizing this, they immediately left the early voting site.”
