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- A Texas Black family’s garage was defaced and new cars lit on fire last week in what they’re decrying as a “hate crime” over their Black Lives Matter yard sign, according to WFAA-TV.
- “Trump 20” spray-painted across their garage doo and their BLM poster was also spray painted, according to Little Elm Journal.
- “That sign was in my yard for less than two weeks and then all of a sudden we get a tragedy like this,” the homeowner Jayla Gipson told WFAA-TV. “I would have preferred they just take the sign.”
A Black Texas couple’s cars were set on fire and their garage door was defaced resulting in thousands of dollars in damages for potentially having a Black Lives Matter sign they recently placed on their property, according to multiple reports.
As Little Elm Journal reported, the incident occurred at their Little Elm, Texas home earlier this month when homeowner Jayla Gipson’s son woke up to use the bathroom and witnessed one of their vehicles on fire.
“He opened the door and smelled the fire, and he walked out onto the entryway and saw the car on fire. He was hysterical so he woke all of us up,” Gipson told the Little Elm Journal.
WFAA-TV reported the family also discovered the words “Trump 20” spray-painted across their garage door.
Spray paint was also found on the family’s Black Lives Matter sign which they had placed on their yard late last month. The family said they had not faced any prior issues in their neighborhood since moving there three years ago, but Gipson told WFAA-TV they felt “targeted.”
"That sign was in my yard for less than two weeks and then all of a sudden we get a tragedy like this," Gipson said to WFAA-TV. "I would have preferred they just take the sign."
Gipson told NBC News the incident was "definitely a hate crime," however the Little Elm Police Department is currently investigating what happened.
According to the Little Elm Journal, the incident resulted in a costly estimated $70,000 in damages, Gipson told the outlet.