Story highlights Swastikas, "white power" and "die n*****" covered the walls

The couple has raised more than $40,000 in donations to cover repairs

(CNN) Pat and Joe Jude enjoyed spending Thanksgiving with their adult daughter last month, but their return home brought a horrific discovery: they were the victims of a hate crime.

The interracial couple had been out of town, visiting their only living daughter. When they returned, they found the vacant rental property they owned defaced with swastikas. The words "white power" and "die n*****" were written on the walls. Vandals busted pipes, broke windows and stuffed drains.

Joe and Pat Jude have been married for 34 years.

"It was horrible and shocking," Pat Jude told CNN. "I just don't understand why someone would think this is okay."

More upsetting than the physical damage was the emotional harm. The crime caused the couple to relive decades of racism and injustice they endured because of their mixed marriage.

Joe, a black man, wed Pat, a white woman, in 1982. For years, they say, they endured verbal abuse and attacks. After 23 years, they headed from Orlando, Florida, to Cincinnati, Ohio, with their two children. But there, Pat says, the racial tensions got worse.

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