A father and son have been accused of painting swastikas and racial slurs on street signs in Brunswick.
William Deary, 49, and his son, 18-year-old Hayden Deary, both of Harpswell, have been charged with criminal mischief, according to Brunswick Police Chief Scott Stewart.
On Jan. 7, police began investigating swastikas and racial slurs painted on speed limit signs around Cook’s Corner, Stewart said.
Days later, on the weekend of Jan. 12-15, vandals painted a swastika and a reference to the Holocaust on the road at the intersection of Stevens Corner and Harpswell Islands roads in Harpswell.
“The graffiti was determined to be hate speech toward the Jewish Community at large,” the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office said last month.
William and Hayden Deary have been charged in the Harpswell vandalism.
Both cases have been referred to the Maine attorney general’s office, which will determine whether the duo violated civil rights laws.
William and Hayden Deary will appear in West Bath District Court next month.
