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Slurs, threats target Indiana church, singer.
Church parishioners found banners on their property containing racial slurs and threatening violence Sunday.
One banner, painted on a bedsheet and tied to a fence at the Unitarian Universalist Church in West Lafayette, Ind., read, “Die F-----s, Orlando just like Los Vegas (sic).” Orlando was the site of the Pulse nightclub shootings in 2016, when
49 people died. Last October in Las Vegas, a sniper attacked the Route
91 Harvest music concert, killing 58 people.
A second banner found at the church referred to singer-songwriter Jackson Browne, echoing fliers distributed in the church’s neighborhood last spring that called out Browne for his liberal stances. The banner used slurs for racial minorities and gays and lesbians.
The first one included the date of Jan. 23. The church’s pastor, the Rev. Charlie Davis, said he considered that a threat, though he didn’t know the significance of the day. The church had no services or events planned that day, though Browne had a concert scheduled Tuesday in Orlando, according to his website. West Lafayette Police Chief Jason Dombkowski said police were investigating.
“This will not be tolerated in our community,” Dombkowski said.
West Lafayette Mayor John Dennis posted a response Sunday afternoon on the city’s Facebook page, saying police “are working the neighborhood to look for information in regards to this disgusting incident.”
Suzan Windnagel, a member of the church, found the banners when she arrived at the church around 8 a.m. Sunday to pick up tables for an art fair that afternoon.
“I automatically called 911, because, I mean, you’ve seen the pictures of what was there,” Windnagel said. “The words were sickening, hate-filled and threatening.”
Davis said the banners were taken down and police were notified before most of the congregation arrived for services Sunday. The church is about six blocks from Purdue University in a neighborhood that is home to many Purdue professors and students.
Less than a year ago, Browne’s name was used in threatening messages distributed in the area.
In May, West Lafayette police received numerous complaints about fliers rolled up and delivered on doors and in driveways near campus that had unsigned, uncredited death threats to the singer-songwriter, referring to him as “the head of the snake” that must be killed.