Another highly publicized hate crime has turned out to be a hoax.
After the 2016 presidential election, St. David’s Episcopal Church in Indiana was vandalized with a swastika, the phrase “HEIL TRUMP,” and, reportedly, “fag church.” In news reports, the vandalism immediately got added to the growing list of alleged hate crimes reportedly inspired by the election of President Trump.
However, it turns out the vandalism on the church wasn’t committed by a crazed Trump supporter at all.
WTHR reports the graffiti was spray-painted by the church’s organist as part of an effort to “mobilize a movement after being disappointed in and fearful of the outcome of the national election.”
According to court records, 26-year-old George Nathaniel Stang, an openly gay male, confessed to committing the vandalism to try to motivate people to oppose the Trump presidency.
Stang reported the graffiti after claiming he discovered it before Sunday services, but cell phone records placed him at the church on Saturday night.
Brown County prosecutor Ted Adams said, “He explained that one of the reasons he had done it was because of fear. He was concerned about the results of the election.”
Court documents show Stang believed his vandalism could inspire activism.
A handwritten statement from Stang reads, "I suppose I wanted to give local people a reason to fight for good, even if it was a false flag.”
"To be clear my actions were not motivated by hate for the church or its congregation. I of course realize now, this was NOT the way to go about inspiring activism,” he continued.
If he is convicted, Stang faces a year in jail and a fine of up to $5,000.
The Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis, Bishop Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, said the church was “saddened” to learn about the “hurtful, dishonest, and profoundly misguided action that stands against the values of the people of this diocese and the Episcopal Church.”
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