Police release video of vandals tagging San Antonio missions with Melania Trump jacket quote

San Antonio police released video Friday afternoon of vandals who spray-painted the San Juan and San Jose missions in San Antonio with the phrase "I don't care. Do you?"

The words are an apparent reference to the jacket First Lady Melania Trump wore on Thursday ahead of a visit to an immigrant children's shelter on the U.S.-Mexico border, which said on the back "I really don't care. Do U?"

The clothing choice caused an immediate uproar that her press office has tried to tamp down.

RELATED: First lady's shelter visit overshadowed by jacket

On the entrance gate to Mission San Jose Church, the vandals attributed the quote to an "MT."

“I don’t care. Do you?” vandals wrote at Mission San Juan on Friday, June 22, 2018. “I don’t care. Do you?” vandals wrote at Mission San Juan on Friday, June 22, 2018. Photo: Caleb Downs Photo: Caleb Downs Image 1 of / 21 Caption Close Police release video of vandals tagging San Antonio missions with Melania Trump jacket quote 1 / 21 Back to Gallery

In the video released by police, two people can be seen spray painting eyelids on the walls of the Mission San Juan Church. Police believe they left the scene in a two or four door white vehicle.

Diana Aguirre Martinez, the director of development and community outreach for Old Spanish Missions Inc., an affiliate of the Catholic Diocese of San Antonio, said when she saw the vandalism on Mission San Juan Capistrano Friday morning, she couldn't help but cry in frustration.

"There's no reason to deface an 18th century building for an issue that's today," she said. "I just don't understand, especially considering how sacred these buildings are, and what treasures they are to San Antonio. It just befuddles the mind."

Martinez said contractors with Ford, Powell and Carson, a company tasked with preserving the mission, are currently working to remove the spray paint from the facade of the church, though they'll be force to remove a layer of plaster in the process.

Officials at Mission San Jose covered the vandalism with church banners Friday morning.

Martinez said she didn't understand why someone would want to deface the mission with that message, as Catholic Charities, a non profit organization associated with the Archdiocese of San Antonio, has advocated on behalf of immigrant children at the U.S.-Mexico border.

"It's just really upsetting to see they used our missions as a canvas for that," she said.

Lauren Gurniewicz, the chief of interpretation at the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, said the mission compounds are equipped with security cameras, and that the footage will be turned over to police.

"I'm sure the San Antonio Police Department will follow through and the suspects will be held accountable," she said.

***PLEASE RT***

We need your help identifying these suspects who are accused of vandalizing Mission San Juan Church overnight. The suspects possibly left the scene in a 2/4 door white vehicle. Anyone with info is encouraged to call our South Property Crimes Unit at (210)207-8191. pic.twitter.com/AN5JMzmLMK — San Antonio PD (@SATXPolice) June 22, 2018

Both Martinez and Gurniewicz said vandalism at the missions is not uncommon, but something on the scale of Friday's vandalism and the political aspect of the defacement is unusual.

"Folks here in San Antonio have a lot of respect for the missions, they're proud to have them in their city," she said. "So we were surprised when we saw the vandalism. It's disappointing."

Anyone with information on the crime is asked to call police at 210-207-8191.

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Fares Sabawi contributed to this report. | Caleb Downs is a crime reporter for mySA.com. Read more of his stories here.| cdowns@mysa.com | Twitter: @calebjdowns