By Emma Murphy, Oklahoma Voice
OKLAHOMA CITY — Crews began cleaning up the walls of the Oklahoma State Capitol on Tuesday after someone wrote derogatory comments about the governor and Immigration and Customs Enforcement on the building and the surrounding area.
Officials Tuesday morning quickly used brown paper to cover what authorities called“violent and vulgar rhetoric.” They said the vandalism occurred overnight, but was discovered Tuesday morning.
While Oklahoma Highway Patrol Lt. Mark Southall would not disclose the content of the messages graffitied on the south side of the Capitol building, he said they included “anti-ICE propaganda and threats against politicians.” He would not say if any politicians were named specifically.
Graffiti was also inked along a nearby underpass on 23rd Street, which cuts underneath the Capitol Complex. One of the most prominent messages named Gov. Kevin Stitt while another encouraged violence against ICE, which has been actively arresting immigrants in the country without proper authorization.
Another message said, “We are the Sons of Liberty,” an apparent reference to a secret colonial-era group that is best known for mastermining the Boston Tea Party and that focused on undermining British rule ahead of the American Revolution.
The underpass messages had yet to be covered up or cleaned Tuesday morning.
Southall said there is video of the act and the agency’s Criminal Investigations Division is “processing evidence.”
“It’s really disheartending because the Capitol is the people’s house where conversations happen,” Southall said. “Desecrating the Capitol is an affront on all of Oklahoma.”
He said the cleanup efforts are expected to take multiple days and cost “several thousand dollars.” The Office of Management and Enterprise Services is responsible for the cleanup, Southall said.
A spokesperson for Stitt referred comment to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
Southall said the underpass is city property so it is the responsibility of the Oklahoma City Police Department.
A spokesperson for the Oklahoma City Police Department said they are not the investigating agency for these incidents.
The vandalism will be federally investigated, the department said.
