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For immediate release: March 24, 2025 Anti-war yard sign cut down by vandal(s) for fourth time in north University neighborhood Contact: Greg Mello: 505-265-1200 office, 505-577-8563 cell, Bex Hampton, 505-545-9578 cell Albuquerque, NM -- On Sunday morning at approximately 1:03 am, a carefully-masked vandal cut down a 3 ft. x 4 ft. vinyl sign in the front yard of the home of Greg Mello and Trish Williams-Mello, which is also the headquarters of the Los Alamos Study Group, a 30-plus year-old anti-war and nuclear disarmament organization. The vandal also took two spotlights. This is the fourth time this particular sign has been destroyed; the Mellos and the Study Group have replaced the sign each time and will do so again. 
The image on the sign is shown at left. Security cameras were installed after the first incident. Videos from February 25, March 5, and March 23 (#1, #2) are posted on the Los Alamos Study Group web site. Here you can see the one-finger salute directed at the camera. After the third incident, there was local news coverage by KRQE ("Sign showing President Trump and Vladimir Putin stolen from home in Albuquerque," 3/8/25) and KOB ("Local activists will not take down sign that keeps being vandalized," 3/9/25). Study Group director Greg Mello: "The free speech issue involved here needs little explanation, except to add that the perpetrator obviously does not believe in it -- or in democracy, to which it is foundational. "War usually results in political violence against dissent, as we see here in a relatively mild form. "Some people -- a minority, polls show -- hate Donald Trump, but he is the President and as such he is the one our Constitution empowers to negotiate with other countries. "Whatever we may think about Putin and the country he leads, we do need peace with Russia, not just to have peace in and for Ukraine but also to have a greater measure of peace and prosperity here. War with Russia is not an option any sane person would embrace. "The cost of the U.S. war complex runs to about $7,600 per household per year. We cannot keep this up without destroying our country. The national debt is now $37 trillion and rising fast, with about a trillion dollars in interest expense currently due each year. The U.S. will never recover unless the war complex is shrunk and tamed. "We have had many different signs in our yard over the past two decades. Lots of people around here have had signs at various times. No one has ever complained about our signs, and we have had many good conversations with our neighbors as a result. There was one hateful comment thrown out about Martin Luther King a few years ago, and more recently a couple of young guys yelled "Slava Ukraini!" ("Glory to Ukraine") as they walked away down the street, which they were certainly entitled to do. But there has never been any vandalism, until now. "This brings us to the issue of hate. There is something more going on here than pulling up election signs, as bad as that is. The repetitive nature of the crime despite the security cameras, the obscene gesture, and the carefully-planned disguise are evidence of a strong emotion. This looks a lot like hate. What comes next? "Well, we aren't going to back down. We will find ways to encourage nonviolent public dialogue, as we have have always done. We won't let thugs win." ***ENDS*** |
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