On the same morning that someone wrote racist graffiti in front of the Oklahoma Democratic Party headquarters, vandals also defaced the Chickasaw Nation building two miles east.
The words “Indians will be gassed” were scrawled in a parking space on the south side of the Chickasaw Nation’s Oklahoma City Area Office, 4001 N. Lincoln Blvd. Below that, the word “lampshaded” was written as well. The meaning of that word is unclear in its context, though the term has been used to describe a rhetorical device in the writing of fictional media. It could also refer to allegations that lampshades were made out of human skin during the Holocaust.
RELATED
Racist graffiti stains Oklahoma Democratic Party HQ by Tres Savage
Other racist words and imagery, reported to include a swastika, were spray painted across the building’s south entrance. While cardboard had been taped over the graffiti by Thursday afternoon, blue spray paint was slightly visible. Vandals at the Oklahoma Democratic Party wrote the majority of their hateful messages in blue spray paint.
“It is very disheartening to see our building defaced by this type of hateful message which is so out of place for Oklahoma,” Chickasaw Nation Gov. Bill Anoatubby said. “We believe it is important to move past this isolated incident and focus our attention on the important work we do.”
Tony Choate, executive officer of media affairs for the Chickasaw Nation, said the Oklahoma City Police Department is leading the investigation.
“I’m not sure exactly when it was found. As far as I know, it was early this morning,” Choate said.
Oklahoma City Police Department Capt. Bo Matthews said a camera at the Chickasaw Nation building captured a person of interest in the investigation who appears to be female. He said the department would be releasing an image soon via its Twitter and Facebook pages.
Matthews said OKCPD is treating the Chickasaw Nation and Oklahoma Democratic Party incidents as if they are related.
“We’re treating both these acts as a hate crime. It looks like both of the incidents are using similar verbiage,” Matthews said. “The FBI was out there at the scene with our criminal intelligence officers. They work closely together, so there will be some assistance if we needed that.”
(Update: This story was updated at 3:28 p.m. Thursday, March 28, 2019, to include comments from OKCPD Capt. Bo Matthews. Additional information about the term “lampshaded” was also added.)
