Anti-racism group reacts to swastika on North Kingstown bike trail

NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (WLNE) — A swastika was spray painted along the Quonset Point Bike Path on Monday.

The symbol has since been cleaned off but went viral in a North Kingstown Facebook group.

Kahlia Shmerer, who’s part of the group Towards Anti-Racist North Kingstown (TANK), told ABC 6 News that while it may have just been a case of spray paint, it’s a message of hate that shouldn’t be regarded as harmless or a prank.

“I mean, it’s a symbol of hate, it’s kind of jarring to see that in any capacity but especially in the community in which you live,” Shmerer said.

While the symbol may be hateful, according to Rhode Island State law, this incident is not a hate crime because the symbol wasn’t targeted toward a specific person or tagged on a place of worship or specific organization.

However, Shmerer said the person responsible should still be held accountable.

“Today it’s just spray paint on a sign on a bike path, tomorrow it can be real destructive vandalism to a Holocaust memorial. If you don’t address it at this point it can turn into something a lot more serious and a lot more dangerous,” Shmerer said.