Hampton police are investigating anti-immigrant signs posted on the doors of Latino-owned businesses in the north-central Iowa town.
According to a Facebook post by the Hampton Chronicle, signs were placed "on the doors of numerous Hispanic businesses in Hampton" early Tuesday morning.
A photo shared by the newspaper shows a piece of paper taped to a door with a black-and-white image that reads "USA Illegal Immigrant Hunting Permit – No Bag Limit – Tagging Not Required.” Below the permit image, the sign reads "Trump 2024.”
"We are taking this matter very seriously, and are working diligently to identify the individual or individuals responsible," Hampton Police Chief Mark Morrison said in a statement Wednesday.
Morrison said he is not able to comment further as the investigation is ongoing, and when it is completed, the case will be sent to the Franklin County attorney.
Franklin County Attorney Andrea Miller said Wednesday morning she had no comment because she was still waiting for information from the police. Miller would decide whether to file criminal charges related to the incident.
Janette Acolt is development coordinator for La Luz Centro Cultural, a nonprofit in Hampton that serves the Latino community. She said the anti-immigrant sign was posted to the nonprofit’s door, and then she found other businesses that were targeted with the same sign.
"We were very scared, just knowing how some people can get very riled up,” Acolt said. "We were scared that someone could come in. I mean, we have a children’s program here, so our program coordinator was also very scared because we have various kids here, in and out all day. It was a very scary day. Even today, we woke up hoping that nothing was at our door.”
Acolt said she wants justice.
"It was a hate crime, basically,” she said. "There’s a lot of Latinos in this community, and we all felt unsafe. And we just never know what someone could [have] go through their head, and maybe other people could get inspired by this and do something crazy. So we definitely want there to be justice.”
She said there have been occasional comments made on Facebook against immigrants and Latinos, but she said she has never seen anything happen like the signs being posted to the doors of businesses.
Acolt said the Latino community in Hampton has been growing, and they’re not going anywhere.
"We are a big part of the community,” Acolt said. "Whether some people want to accept it or not, we are important to the economy here. There’s lots of businesses, lots of Latinos who live here and thrive, and we also give back. So I just want everyone to know that. We are not going anywhere. We’re here to be part of the community.”
This story has been updated to include a statement from the Hampton Police Department.
