Madeline Buckley

madeline.buckley@indystar.com

In November, a Brown County church that recognizes same-sex marriage was vandalized with hate-filled graffiti, including an anti-gay slur, a swastika and the words "Heil Trump."

The incident, which happened right after President Donald Trump was elected, generated media attention, and fear in the community and at St. David's Episcopal Church in Bean Blossom.

But in a twist, the motive of the graffiti was not as it appeared.

Brown County Prosecutor Ted Adams on Wednesday filed a misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief against George Nathaniel "Nathan" Stang, 26, of Bloomington, accusing him of vandalizing the church.

Stang though, is a gay man himself, he told IndyStar. He said he did not vandalize the church out of hate, but rather, out of a misguided attempt to spur people to action after the election left him afraid for his future.

"Over the course of that week, I was fearful, scared and alone, too, in my fear," Stang told IndyStar. "I guess one of the driving factors behind me committing the act was that I wanted other people to be scared with me."

Now, he knows what he did was wrong.

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"I'm very sad to have created more hate in a world that already has too much hate," Stang said. "The congregation doesn't deserve it, the emotional turmoil I put them through."

Rex Early, former chairman for Trump's campaign in Indiana, said he thinks most Hoosiers would condemn this kind of action, even if they didn't vote for Trump.

"I've been through a lot of elections, and I for one, have never seen the hatred coming from the people that we beat," Early said. "You know we’ve always had a winner and a loser, and after the votes are counted, if you don't like it, he's still president."

In an interview with detectives, court documents say, Stang said he spray-painted the church because he felt alone after the election.

"To be clear, my actions were not motivated by hate for the church or its congregation," Stang wrote in a statement for police. "I suppose I wanted to give local people a reason to fight for good even if it was a false flag. I of course realize now that this was NOT the way to go about inspiring activism."

Police were called to the church after 8 a.m. Nov. 13, a probable cause affidavit says. The Rev. Kelsey Hutto, pastor in charge at St. David's, told police that Stang, an organist at the church, called her to tell her the church was vandalized. Hutto told police the church is inclusive, and recognizes same-sex marriage.

Detectives suspected the vandal may have been associated with the church, as it would not be immediately clear to a passer-by that the church is supportive of same-sex marriage, the affidavit says. Police did a "tower dump" of cellphones in the area of the church the night the vandalism was committed, and found that Stang's cellphone number was in the area that night.

When questioned, Stang admitted he spray-painted the church, saying he wanted to "mobilize a movement," but did not realize the incident would cause the media attention it did.

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In November, Hutto said she was disheartened by the hate speech.

"Well, we must be doing something right," Hutto said. "We stated one time that doing the right thing was not always the popular thing. We were targeted for a reason, and in our mind it was for a good reason."

In a statement posted to the church's Facebook page on Wednesday, Hutto wrote that the church is walking the line between forgiveness and holding Stang responsible.

"Nathan is a member of our St. David's family, and naturally there is a certain amount of betrayal with this act," Hutto wrote. "Over the coming weeks and days, we will process our emotions regarding this hurtful act."

The bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis also weighed in.

"We are living now in a political climate that is so divisive and highly charged that people from all across the political spectrum are making thoughtless and hurtful choices that they believe are justified by the righteousness of their causes," Bishop Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows wrote in a statement. "As people who follow Jesus, we must find a different way."

In a statement, Adams praised the work of police, saying such vandalism is a "blight on our small and diverse community."

Stang is now trying to repair the damage. He has reached out to church officials to ask for a chance to explain and apologize.

He assumes he will no longer be organist there.

Call IndyStar reporter Madeline Buckley at (317) 444-6083. Follow her on Twitter: @Mabuckley88.