The Orange County Sheriff’s Office is investigating after swastikas were spray-painted on five trees less than a block from an early voting location in Taft.
The graffiti was spotted along Orange Avenue near Pine Street, just down the road from the Taft Community Center, where voters are casting their ballots ahead of Tuesday’s election.
Amber Levesque said she was driving to the community center to vote when she spotted the symbols painted in white on five tree trunks.
“I was shocked. Honestly, I didn’t think that we had gotten to that point,” Levesque said.
She recorded video of the graffiti and reached out to News 6 through our Neighborhood Network.
When News 6 visited the location Friday, the swastikas appeared to have already been painted over. Fresh gray paint could be seen on all five tree trunks.
The trees are not located on the community center’s property, but they stand less than a block from the entrance, along a road used by voters approaching the polling location.
Levesque said she worries about the message the symbols could send to people heading to the polls.
“Am I being watched? Am I being warned if I vote a certain way, is this behavior going to continue?” she said.
Orange County Supervisor of Elections Karen Castor Dentel condemned the graffiti in a statement Friday.
“These symbols represent a history of hatred, antisemitism, and violence. Their presence in our community is deeply disturbing and unacceptable,” Castor Dentel said. “Hatred has no place in our community, and it has no place in our elections.”
The Supervisor of Elections Office said it notified the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, which is investigating the incident.
Election officials also said they began coordinating with Orange County government and local leaders to have the graffiti removed.
It remains unclear who painted the swastikas, what motivated the vandalism or who covered the symbols with gray paint.
While investigators have not established whether the graffiti was intended to intimidate voters, election officials emphasized that Florida and federal laws protect voters from threats, coercion and intimidation.
Castor Dentel said no one should have to question whether they are welcome or safe when participating in their community or exercising their right to vote.
Despite what she encountered, Levesque said she hopes other voters won’t be discouraged.
“Go vote. Go vote. Even if you see these signs, people, please go vote,” she said.
All 27 early voting locations in Orange County remain open. Early voting continues through Sunday, Nov. 1, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
On Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters must cast their ballots at their assigned polling locations.
News 6 has blurred the swastikas in the video to avoid further amplifying the symbols of hate.