The Rockledge Borough Police Department announced today that they are investigating a potential hate crime after responding to a report of a residential incident on Saturday, April 20.

According to Chief John Gallager, officers found feces (animal or human) directly in front of the entrance to a home in the borough.

Further investigation revealed that the resident is a World War II veteran. Police believe that the property may have been targeted because of its pro-American and/or pro-Israel yard signs.

The investigation hopes to determine if the signs were a contributing factor, Gallagher said.

“This victim’s veteran status may or may not meet the legal definition of Ethnic Intimidation (a.k.a., Hate Crime) under Sec. 2710 under the PA Crimes Code,” Gallagher said in a Facebook post. “However, it’s still important to know that politically motivated crime, which results in Assault, Threats, or Criminal Mischief (i.e., Vandalism or Graffiti), and/or Hate Crime, regardless of reason, won’t be tolerated in our community. Police will make every effort to identify the person(s) responsible for such unlawful conduct and arrest that person(s), if probable cause exists to do so, in order to ensure that such a criminal offender(s) is held accountable for his/her actions.”

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