Police Call Graffiti at Provo Church ‘Hateful’

PROVO, Utah – Police are searching for suspects after a severe act of vandalism at a Provo church building.

A meetinghouse and a fence for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located at 555 E. 3230 N. were vandalized with graffiti overnight Saturday.

Police say the spray-painted messages left by the suspects were laced with profanity.

“(They said) hateful things about religion, hateful things about political things and then just a lot of random graffiti, emojis and other things like that,” said Det. Nick Dupaix.

Police say reports of graffiti in Provo aren’t uncommon, but the vandalism at this church was extensive.

“This was a huge wide area just in that one particular location,” said Det. Dupaix. “We’re talking not just a couple hundred dollars worth of damage here, we’re probably talking about a thousand, maybe even more.”

A clean-up crew was at the church Sunday for hours, trying to erase the graffiti.

Investigators now have the job of tracking down the vandals. They have a team that specializes in graffiti.

“Sometimes with these graffiti investigations they’re able to take a look at these tags and pretty much determine who they belong to,” said Det. Dupaix.

Neighbors, like Janet Jones who lives right behind the church, hope the vandals are caught soon.

“It’s very sad and very disrespectful of a church and of a neighborhood,” said Jones. “It would be nice if someone was accountable but who knows.”Pro

A church spokesperson, Eric Hawkins, released a statement:

“Our Church buildings are places of worship and community gathering where all are welcome. We are saddened by the damage that has occurred at this location. At this point authorities are conducting their investigation and would be the appropriate source for any additional details.”

Police say they do see a rise in graffiti on the weekends and over the summer.

They say if anyone has information about what happened here last night, please call Provo police.