EDMONTON—An NDP supporter woke up to police knocking on his door just before 8 a.m. Wednesday telling him his election lawn sign had been defaced with a swastika.

Christopher Cook’s sign was one of several in the Alberta Avenue area supporting Edmonton-City Centre candidate David Shepherd that were vandalized Tuesday night with backwards swastikas and the words “F—k Notley” and “F—k NDP” in black spray paint.

Cook called the vandalism “disgusting.”

“It’s just such a blatant racist, awful thing to do to somebody. It’s such a symbol of immediate hate,” he said.

“Especially in the context of having a Black MLA in central Edmonton, I was instantly just really, really angry.”

At least one sign for NDP Leader Rachel Notley was also defaced, with a backwards swastika and a circle around Notley’s name with a line through it.

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Cook said police asked if they could remove his sign before taking it away, and that they took away other vandalized signs in the neighbourhood as well.

He said the incident has spurred him to start volunteering for the NDP campaign as a way to channel his anger into something positive.

He plans to pick up several more signs in case his lawn gets targeted again.

“I love my neighbourhood. There’s problems in our neighbourhood, but the 118th (Avenue) area is really making progress. But it’s s—t like this that just drives me nuts, because I don’t want to think it’s people in this neighbourhood that behave like that,” he said.

Carl Busch said his cousin saw a man in his 20s running off with a can of spray paint around 12:10 a.m. Wednesday, and they went outside to find their two David Shepherd lawn signs tagged in front of his home in nearby Westwood.

The large sign was vandalized with crude language, and the smaller sign with swastikas.

Busch, who called the police, said he found the incident “unnerving.”

“There’s a lot of diversity in the population who lives here, so to see that in this neighbourhood and part of the city in particular is a little upsetting. I can imagine what people thought seeing something like that,” he said.

“I hope people of the community understand that all of us are here supporting them. I don’t want this to be something that turns people against each other.”

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Busch said police cruisers came out to the neighbourhood, driving up and down the alleys, and the police helicopter also flew over the area.

Police confirmed they received a complaint and are investigating.

Shepherd emailed a statement to Star Edmonton in response to the incidents.

“As a member of Rachel Notley’s team and the NDP candidate for Edmonton City-Centre, I am proud to represent a positive campaign that is focused on promoting hope, optimism, and inclusion,” he wrote. “I will always fight to keep Alberta a province that is united, not divided. As an Edmontonian and Albertan, I denounce any and all forms of racism or discrimination.”

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