Police say two people were caught on video vandalizing the state Capitol early Saturday morning.
“Solidarity with Bears Ears” was painted across a roughly 20-foot stretch of the building’s east side in red lettering. Sgt. Brady Zaugg, spokesman for the Utah Highway Patrol, which provides security at the Capitol, said there were also two anarchist symbols.
Zaugg said surveillance footage shows two suspects approach about 12:45 a.m. Saturday and paint the political message.
Utah State Auditor John Dougall took a picture of a state worker trying to remove the graffiti early Saturday. He urged anyone with information on the vandalism to call the police.
“It is one of those things where someone wants to protest protecting a monument by destroying a monument,” he said. “It doesn’t help build support for what they are advocating.”
Zaugg said he worked at the Capitol for about four years, and during that stretch, vandalism occurred about once a year.
Zaugg said UHP has contacted other area law enforcement agencies, but no suspects have been identified.
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