Large Nazi symbols were painted on a walking path in Bangor between Stillwater Ave. and Sylvan Road near I-95.
The graffiti, which included a swastika and the numbers “1488,” was visible as of Monday afternoon.
The graffiti comes after the white supremacist group Patriot Front was spotted in Bangor last month. Members of the Texas-based hate group were seen putting up stickers downtown in September, a Hampden resident said during public comment at a recent Bangor City Council meeting.
It’s unclear whether the two incidents are directly related, but both point to a continued presence in Maine of white supremacist actors and groups that experts say have been emboldened by President Donald Trump’s rhetoric.
Bangor’s Parks and Recreation Department “maintains the pathway and is aware of this troubling graffiti,” city spokesperson David Warren said.
1488 is categorized as a white supremacist hate symbol by the Anti-Defamation League. Fourteen refers to the “14 words” slogan: “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children,” and 88 stands for “Heil Hitler” because H is the eighth letter in the alphabet.
“Together, the numbers form a general endorsement of white supremacy and its beliefs,” according to the Anti-Defamation League.
