State College police are looking to identify “persons of interest” after the mural at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza was defaced with the name and logo of a white supremacist group on Friday.
The logo of Patriot Front, which is classified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group, was stenciled in a red substance over an image of King on the mural, which depicts photos from the civil rights leader’s 1965 visit to Penn State. A public works crew worked quickly on Friday afternoon to clean the graffiti from the mural at 131 S. Fraser St.
On Monday, police released video still images of the “persons of interest” appearing to exit the adjacent Fraser Street garage.
Police are investigating the incident as a hate crime and are offering a $1,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.
Anyone who may have information is asked to contact the State College Police Department at (814) 234-
7150, by email or by submitting an anonymous tip through the department’s website.
“I can assure the community that the SCPD is utilizing every tool available to identify and hold accountable the persons who committed this hate crime.” State College Assistant Police Chief Matt Wilson said.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza was dedicated in 2017 to be an enduring tribute to King and his message, as well as a place to foster gatherings and unity.
“The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza and mural is a cherished memorial and a symbol for the State College community that Dr. King’s fight for social justice lives on in our community,” Borough Manager Tom Fountaine said. “To deface that mural is an attack on the pillars of our community, including our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
The same group’s name appeared on vandalism around State College and Bellefonte earlier this year.
In January, stickers bearing messages from Patriot Front, a white supremacist group that calls for American fascism and white nationalism, were found in more than 30 locations around State College. They were discovered the same week in Bellefonte, where a pride mural was defaced with the same group’s name and website. The mural was restored the next day by community members.
In 2019, ProPublica called Patriot Front “perhaps the most active white supremacist group in the nation.” Its organization occurs largely in private Internet communications. Its most common public-facing activities include placing stickers with messages and the group’s website around towns and college campuses. The group’s leader, Thomas Rousseau, and two others were arrested last August in Texas for placing the stickers on Parker County property.
