Police consider graffiti about killing Jerry Brown a 'terrorist threat,' seek links to earlier vandalism

Both Santa Ana police and Gov. Jerry Brown's security detail on Friday are trying find out who wrote graffiti on two walls threatening to kill the new governor on Valentine's Day.

The graffiti, which threatened the governor and included a Nazi swastika, was discovered Thursday and is considered a "terrorist threat." Authorities are also probing any links to earlier graffiti in the area threating to kill Catholics.

"At this point," Cpl. Anthony Bertagna of the Santa Ana Police Department said,  "we have no clue, other than it's Valentine's Day."

One of the scrawls said, "We gonna kill Gov. Brown 2/14/11," and was discovered by a resident about 7 a.m. on a block wall on South Greenville Street near Alton Avenue, Bertagna said. The threat was sprayed with black paint.

Later in the day, a Santa Ana police officer spotted the second message on a block wall on Segerstrom Avenue. Painted in red, it said, "26 more days 4 Brown." A swastika was painted next to it, Bertagna said.

Santa Ana police contacted the California Highway Patrol, which is responsible for protecting the governor. Bertagna said investigators were checking the governor's schedule to see if he was planning to visit the area on Feb. 14, which is Valentine's Day.

Anyone with information is asked to call Santa Ana police at (714) 245-8390.

--Robert J. Lopez

Photo: KTLA

 

Comments

[rob]

You know this was a Republican or Tea Party person who wrote this

[Norm Silver]

Will this be the reason the recently cut CHP Security detachment will be restored to what has been "Full Staff?"

[Mike D]

I find the graffiti more repulsive than what it says. The one graffiti does not say what will happen in 26 days. Obviously the other is a threat. But graffiti costs millions of dollars and can do irreparable damage to buildings and structures. Graffiti should be a felony and result in serious jail or prison time. These are not "kids" doing this. They are thugs.

By the way. Good start Governor Brown.

[peter]

Odd that Santa Ana, an 80-90% Hispanic immigrant city with a large latino gang problem, displays death threats against Gov Brown using a swastika. I wonder if the Santa Ana latino gangs are mad at Brown because he is cutting down/cutting off welfare handouts to the large impoverished Hispanic immigrant community in SA. I do not think there is one Hitler worshipper nor white power advocate skin head individual in entire city of SA, and that the latino gangs are using the swastika as a diversionary white power symbol to deflect Police investigations. Just a theory

[krvonl]

It's actually more like a Buddhist swastika. The Nazi swastika has the open end of the arms going clockwise, and it's usually rotated 45 degrees. Some nitwit doesn't know that many cultures have a swastika.

[Darrell]

Although I would still consider this action as a serious threat I would have to say it was done by a single person and not a group or organization. Had it been an actual group or organization they would have painted the swastika is the right direction.

[JC]

Seriously, it just shows how pathetic our country is getting when this type of behavior is on a wall on the streets of Santa Ana.

I thought the only tagging on the walls of Santa Ana were for the gang bangers to keep their turf?

Maybe its time that our politicians start working for the ENTIRE society and not just special interest groups?

[Tim]

The use of the counter clockwise is rare, definitely nothing to do with white power.

[H Smith]

Thats not a swastika, it's an aztec symbol. The swawstika has arms in the oposite direction.

[John]

Probably a bunch of 14-year old's with nothing better to do.

[LA Observer]

Dumb Rob said
"You know this was a Republican or Tea Party person who wrote this"

Or Rob...it could have been a democratic operative trying to stir up sympathy.

[Montana Gold-]

Actually there is footage of a woman getting out of a minivan, described as "white". Since the same person put racist tags about blacks, latinos and asians... easy to put the two together.

[glenn grab]

How do you know this was written by some right-winger?...It makes more sense for it to have been written by a lefty, to make the right look bad. This is the kind of thing the liberal media feasts on....for example, read what "rob" posted....what a great thinker, how did you EVER come to that conclusion?...gee, I wonder what side you are on?....

[Montana Gold-]

(4th attempt to comment.... ) The graff looks like a person who has never picked up a spray can before. Maybe another Laughner? I suspect the person behind the attacks is white, because they already insulted latinos, blacks and asians. Lots of angry bitter Skinheads in the O.C.... just a theory?

[Bill]

Those are ZwaZtikas because they are Z's.

[angel zapata]

some kkk member did that and try to blame it on hispanics. how racists.

[glenn grab]

I think there is a good chance that this was written by the cops, so they could pretend they were actually doing something. There's something suspicious about the way the "graffiti" is worded......"we gonna kill gov. Brown" .....besides if someone was going to attempt to kill Brown, why would they post the date, isn't that rather stupid?

[PunkJunker]

Thank You krvonl. I was looking at this picture and reading the article. Clearly nobody seems to notice the obvious rotation of this "swastika" and it's possible missuse. A "left facing" symbol would be called sauwastika and is generally used with eastern philosophies such as Hinduism and Buddhism. My first though at this sloppy job is that some dumb kid wrote a message (probably not white) and someone came by later and add/changed it to appear racist and messed it up. They couldn't even use the same color. It looks like it first read 27 more day 4 brown. Now it reads 26 more days 4 brown. Perhaps they'll return tonight to change it to 25 more days and they'll get caught! hahaha
See more about this design at the url I provided.

[Terry]

Thanks for the count down till valentines day!

[D]

Is Brown Jewish? If he is, could this just be someone who is trying to be a jerk and threaten him?

[phil]

i say we all stay up til' 4 in the morning around those areas and check if anyone is writing on walls... that way not only do you get rid of the culprit of this graffiti, but all taggers.

[spike]

Its not a Nazi swastika you dorks, left-facing variants are commonly employed in Hinduism and Buddhism.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Buddhistswastika.jpg

[OpenMinded]

rob wrote:

"You know this was a Republican or Tea Party person who wrote this"

Either the individual who wrote the above is knowingly trying to connect this incident -- which bears all the marks of being just another in a long, long series of *fake* hate crime hoaxes -- or they're genuinely clueless.

People who limit their news reading to corporate media outlets such as the L.A. Times and other liberal media sources would have no idea that literally over half of alleged/suspected (by the media) "hate crimes" and "bias-motivated incidents" are in fact hoaxes designed by their perpetrators precisely to mislead and scare the public for cynical political reasons.

[truth]

I know this wont be posted because its the truth, Yes when you go after there welfare the mexicans and blacks will riot. He is taking deeper cuts into medical because he knows people with medical issues wont riot we have medical issues that are serious and cutting off our medical is basicly murder. However the mexicans , illegals and blacks will throw a fit riot and try to kill him for there wefare that cuts into there illegal drug money and thats the cold hard truth.

[OpenMinded]

Montana Gold wrote:

"Actually there is footage of a woman getting out of a minivan, described as "white". Since the same person put racist tags about blacks, latinos and asians... easy to put the two together. "

Maybe it was that *white* college professor who, a few years back, defaced her own car with antisemitic slogans. It turned out that *white* lady had done the deed herself -- just one more phony hate crime hoax, ready to be swallowed whole by the gullible. Lots and lots of naive folks had eggs on their faces after the truth in that case came out.