Beth and Ken Slanie, who have a large Trump 2020 flag installed on their porch, said they were “shocked” and “sad” to find a sign installed near their house overnight. They talked to NBC 7 about the sign and our current political climate on Wednesday afternoon.
Police in Coronado were called out after some residents woke up to find out that signs reading "Racism Lives Here" were installed in their yards.
The red, white and blue signs are well-made and are close in appearance to some Trump/Pence signs, with the phrase "Racism Lives Here" replacing the candidates' names and the updated 2020 campaign slogan "Keep America Great" switched to 2016's more-familiar "Make America Great Again."
While there are also red, white and blue Biden/Harris, signs, of course, the typography in the signs planted overnight much more closely resembles those used on signs representing the incumbent ticket.
Coronado police made visits to at least three homes about the signs on Wednesday morning. No crimes were committed by installing them, police spokeswoman Lea Corbin told NBC 7 in an email.
"We do not have a crime," Corbin stated. "Simply placing a sign in another’s yard may be unwanted but [is] not a crime."
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At least one resident was able to capture an incident on a home-security camera. CPD said they were going to collect that footage as part of their investigation. NBC 7 contacted Coronado police to find out why the footage was being collected if no crime had been committed but the station has yet to hear back.
Corbin said that the department had "[no] idea why the signs were placed in certain areas, and not others."
A Coronado couple who have a large Trump 2020 flag fluttering on their porch, told NBC 7 they were "shocked" and "sad" to learn the signs had been installed.
"It was sad that anybody would think that about us, first of all, just because of the flag we have, because that’s just not us," Ken Slanie said.
The Slanies said that while people may have different political beliefs, we are all Americans.
"We've lived in Coronado since 1968," Slanie said. "So we've been here 52 years, and I've never seen anything like this before, where people are so divided and it's ridiculous. Everybody -- we've got friends that are Biden fans and friends that are Trump fans and friends of all nationalities, and I've never seen anything like this before in Coronado, and it's kind of sad to see that."
Accusations of racism have been leveled against President Trump both before the 2020 presidential campaign and during it, including on the most recent episode of CBS' "60 Minutes," during which Sen. Kamala Harris, who is the Democratic nominee for vice-president, said she believed the president was racist. For his part, Trump has recently denied the allegation, saying just last week during the presidential debate that he was "the least racist person in the room."
