A 23-year-old Arkansas man is facing five charges of criminal mischief after confessing to spray-painting swastikas in the city of Booneville, Ak., local ABC affiliate 4029 news reports.
The graffiti featured swastikas, “SS” lightning bolts, and the initials “D+R” in black spray-paint were found on multiple locations throughout Booneville on Sept. 26. Police believe the “D+R” initials refer to Mullen and his girlfriend, whose name has not been released. The “SS” is “a common white supremacist/neo-Nazi symbol derived from Schutzstaffel (SS) of Nazi Germany,” according to the Anti-Defamation League.
Authorities arrested Mullen on Oct. 4 after he was allegedly involved in a physical altercation with a man named Justin Jones. Jones, 33, was reportedly armed with a gun while Mullen had a metal baton. During the altercation, the gun went off and struck Mullen’s girlfriend in the chest. She is expected to survive her injuries.
Mullen later confessed to the vandalism and is currently being held in Logan County Jail.
“We want to make our town a better place to live and we want to clean our town up,” Lt. Benjamin Villarreal told 4029 News. “We don’t want those things happening around here and when something does happen like that, we’re going to take it serious (sic) and punish those the best we can.”
