LIMERICK, Maine — The York County Sheriff’s Department responded to what concerned citizens thought was a holiday display in support of the terrorist group Islamic State, also known as ISIS.

But in the end, the display turned out to be the opposite — a lighted display of Santa Claus urinating on the acronym ISIS.





The sheriff’s department responded after it received calls from media outlets Friday, Sheriff William King Jr. said in a news release issued Saturday night. The sheriff said that the department received multiple calls about the display.

The callers were concerned the homeowner might be an Islamic State sympathizer, the sheriff said. Deputies visited the home Friday evening and the acronym ISIS was lit up bright and clear, he said.

What was not clear until officers got closer was that the Santa Claus located on a deck above the acronym had a string of white lights arranged to look like Saint Nick was urinating on the terrorist organization’s name.

The deputies explained to the homeowner why the sheriff’s department took an interest, mentioning the calls.

“No law was broken and we did not tell him to take the lights down or to reconfigure anything. We simply told him that somebody had alerted the media,” King stated.

The homeowner told deputies that he would rearrange the lights to clear up any doubts about his anti-Islamic State message, the sheriff said.