(CNN) The Mississippi Department of Public Safety is looking for several suspects believed responsible for placing a pair of nooses and signs on the Mississippi state Capitol grounds Monday morning.

The items were placed the day before a runoff election between Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith and former Democratic congressman Mike Espy for a US Senate seat. The runoff has drawn attention to the state's history of racist violence.

"We're hanging nooses to remind people that times haven't changed," reads one of the signs.

Authorities released images of the signs on Monday and asked the public for help locating those responsible for what it described as "acts of hate and intimidation."

"Let me be perfectly clear -- there is absolutely no place in our state for these unacceptable symbols or tactics to intimidate others," US Attorney Mike Hurst of Mississippi's Southern District said in a statement.

Read More