Crime & Safety
'Illeagle' Graffiti is Gone from Westminster Army Building
The 'no illeagles here...' message is reportedly no longer visible.
The spray-painted message on the former U.S. Army Reserve building in Westminster that police are investigating as a hate crime has reportedly been covered up.
The graffiti—which said "no illeagles here no undocumented Democrats"—was spray-painted after the federal government was considering the Carroll County building for a shelter to house immigrant children crossing the Mexican border. By law, the U.S. has to keep children who cross the border without adults until they can be reunited with a relative or adult sponsor.
After the announcement that the government was considering Westminster for the shelter was made public Thursday, U.S. Rep. Andy Harris said he would "use every tool at my disposal" to block funding to support siting the shelter in Westminster.
Harris was not the only one encouraging the feds to pass on the site.
Gov. Martin O'Malley reportedly asked a top White House official on Friday night not to send the children to "western Maryland," according to CNN.
"I did not believe ... that this would have been the most hospitable receiving of sites," O'Malley told WBAL. His aides clarified that he was not necessarily against housing the children in Maryland but was concerned about putting the shelter in a conservative part of the state where "children were at risk of getting harassed or worse," according to ABC News.
By Saturday, government officials said the site was out of the running.
Over the weekend, the "illeagle" graffiti was spray-painted on the side of the building in Westminster, and it made national news.
The message was covered with "brick-colored paint" on Tuesday, the Carroll County Times reported.
The Carroll County Department of Public Works said it was not responsible for the painting, while Maryland State Police said a citizen had called the Westminster barrack on Monday to inquire about painting over the graffiti and was directed to Army officials, the Carroll County Times reported.
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