Rick Neale

FLORIDA TODAY

WEST MELBOURNE — Vandals spray-painted "Nazi" across a Donald Trump sign last week outside the Ice Cream Depot in West Melbourne — marking the third time the sign was defaced since November.

The "President Trump 2017: Make Ice Cream Great Again" sign — which depicts Trump eating a chocolate ice cream cone — faces Wickham Road traffic and is illuminated by a spotlight at night. Ice Cream Depot owner Lisa McDermott said the vinyl sign cost $150, not including its wooden frame and two accompanying U.S. flags.

"I feel like they violated my First Amendment right. We have a right to support who we want to support. I've been a die-hard Republican all my life," McDermott said.

"It was wrong what these people did. I don't know if they get their kicks doing stuff like this to people's personal property," she said.

McDermott erected the sign in late September, days before Trump conducted a campaign rally at the AeroMod International hangar at Orlando Melbourne International Airport. Just before Election Day, she said someone used neon-pink spray paint to write an expletive above Trump's name.

Two weeks ago, just after midnight on Jan. 26, Ice Cream Depot surveillance camera photos show two suspects wearing hoodies — one male and one female — exiting what may be a white Chevrolet Malibu near the sign. They unplugged the spotlight and used a screwdriver-like object to stab about 20 holes on and near Trump's face, McDermott said.

Then last week, shortly after 2:20 a.m. on Jan. 31, the camera captured two female suspects approaching the sign, then leaving the scene to the south on foot. McDermott discovered the black spray-painted "Nazi" graffiti later that morning.

"They're comparing him to Hitler. And he's not a Hitler. It's like a hate crime: If you put that on a sign, do you hate me and my business?" she asked.

West Melbourne police have not identified any vandalism suspects, Capt. Richard Cordeau said. He said the surveillance footage does not show sufficient detail to identify the culprits, and the case is suspended due to lack of suspect information.

"However, in the event that we get more information about the suspects, the case will be reopened," Cordeau said.

"There's just not a lot to go on in this case. If they continue their behavior, it's just a matter of time before they're caught. However, that remains to be seen," he said.

McDermott's husband, Jim, plans to repair the damaged sign and attach a new decal depicting Trump eating ice cream.

"I'm in a Catch-22 situation. Because if I take it down, these people are going to think it was because of their actions," Jim McDermott said. "At this point, we're going to leave it up a little while longer, fix it, take the 'Nazi' off of it.

"The Nazi thing bothers me the most," he said.

Contact Neale at 321-242-3638, rneale@floridatoday.com or follow @RickNeale1 on Twitter