A woman in Lake Oswego said Thursday that a man walked into her yard last week and handed her a note calling her lawn sign, which says, among other things, "In our America, all people are equal, love wins," "hateful."

The woman, who asked not to be identified for fear of further harassment, said that the man also left a note for her neighbor, who has the same lawn sign.

"I live on this little tiny dead end street in Lake Oswego," the woman said over the phone. "I kind of joke it's our little bubble inside of our Lake Oswego bubble."

But last Thursday, she said that while she stood in her lawn, talking to a roofer, a man in a white van that had been parked down the street drove to her house, stopped his vehicle and got out.

"He asks, 'Is that your sign?'" the woman told us. "I said 'Yeah it is,' expecting him to say 'Where can I get one.'"

The lawn sign is the type seen throughout the Portland area, that says, "In our America, all people are equal, love wins, black lives matter, immigrants & refugees are welcome, disabilities are respected, women are in charge of their bodies, people & planet are valued over profit, diversity is celebrated," all superimposed on an American flag.

But the man did not want a sign like hers. Instead, she said "his whole demeanor changes and he steps forward toward me."

The woman was surprised, she said, "I am standing here with a roofing guy in my happy little yard."

"He says, 'Well this is my sign!'" the woman continued, "and he shouts at me and shoves a piece of paper in my hand."

The piece of paper was a note that read:

Like I told your neighbor, It's so heartbreaking that these hateful signs are popping up all over town.



America has truly fallen from favor that her people proudly advertise their sin?



What are you thinking? That you're an enlightend [sic], virtuous person to be in favor of killing babies, killing cops, rioting, destroying America with your radical leftism?



Woman control over her body? Fine, but the baby is not her body.



BLM? They chant "What do we want? Dead cops! When do we want them? Now!" & you -- you "middle-class" anarchist support that?

The woman said she reached out to her neighbor, who has the same sign and was mentioned in the note. When her neighbor came home, she found her own note, which read:

You & your neighbor & your neighbors with these vile signs about "our America." If you get your way, "your America" will end up like Venezuela or Cuba -- then where will your affluent lifestyle go?

This is a hate message -- you hate Trump repubs; Christians, conservatives, Israel, borders, free enterprise. You hate police (BLM) You hate babies (woman's body my ass) and you hate me because I stand for the constitution, liberty, strong military, borders, law & order and Jesus Christ who died to save me. However he won't save you because you reject all godliness.

Both neighbors called the police. The woman we spoke with said that an officer came to her house and her roofer also gave a report of the incident.

The Lake Oswego Police Department confirmed they spoke with the women but said they did not take further action since no crime was committed.

The woman said that while she felt "exposed and violated in my own yard," she does not plan to take down the sign. But that doesn't mean she isn't worried by the incident.

"My fear is that there's some website out there cataloguing us," she said over the phone. But, she added, "As of today, I still have a right to free speech."

-- Lizzy Acker

503-221-8052

lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker