Sometime over Saturday night vandals painted hostile messages on the fence of the Common Fence Point Community center, where the Portsmouth Democratic Town Committee is scheduled to have their annual fundraiser today. The vandalism was discovered this morning and reported to the Portsmouth Police Department.

Saying, “Not welcome demon rats” and quoting from a passage in the Old Testament, the vandals’ message mentions abortion and “LBQT Sodam + Gomra” [sic] and concludes, “The Lord has spoken.”

“This is not just some harmless prank. Defacing private property is a crime,” said Portsmouth Democratic Town Committee Chair Len Katzman. “These messages threatening Democrats are a crime. The Portsmouth Democratic town committee condemns all violence and threatened violence against people and property. We call on all Portsmouth citizens to condemn this vandalism, and condemn these threats to the safety of our neighbors.”

Undetered, the Portsmouth Democrats held their event at 933 Anthony Rd. in the Common Fence Point neighborhood of Portsmouth. Katzman said they had sign-up sheets for attendees to volunteer in helping the Community Center clean their fence.

John McDaid is the treasurer of the Portsmouth Democratic Town Committee.