Anti-semitic graffiti investigated as hate crime in Monterey on Alvarado Street

MONTEREY, Calif. (KION-TV)- The Monterey Police Department said they were called Monday to the 300 block of Alvarado Street in Monterey for reports of hate crime graffiti.

Police believe the graffiti was written in black paint or marker sometime on Dec. 5. They added that it consisted of racial slurs and anti-semetic imagery.

A Hate Crime is defined as any criminal act or attempt directed against a person(s), public agency or private institution based on the victim’s actual or perceived race, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or gender or because the agency or institution is identified or associated with a person or group of an identifiable race, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or gender. A hate crime includes an act, which results in injury, however slight; a verbal threat of violence which apparently can be carried out; an act which results in property damage; and property damage or another criminal act(s) directed against a public or private agency.

Monterey Police

Monterey Police added that hate crimes impact the individual they target and the community. "Any acts or threats of violence, property damage, harassment, intimidation, or other crimes motivated by hate or bias are viewed very seriously and given the highest priority," said police.