On Thursday morning, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) painted over "vulgar" anti-Biden graffiti found on Interstate 81, The Morning Call reported.
According to the report, the graffiti, which The Morning Call described as "a two-word vulgarism rendered in large black letters" was painted on concrete barriers along Interstate 81 near signage for the newly-renamed President Joseph R. Biden Jr. Expressway in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The graffiti comes just weeks after PennDOT erected the signage for the expressway, PAhomepage said.
The vandalism is believed to have happened sometime between late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning.
PennDOT told PAhomepage that there are no cameras on that area of the highway, so officials aren't sure who is responsible for the graffiti. However, if the suspect is found, police can press charges, PAhomepage said.
Area residents who spoke with PAhomepage said that the graffiti displays a basic lack of respect.
"I think it's an immense disgrace, and to a person from our area who lawfully, and is, our current president," Irwin Adler of Scranton said.
"Where's the respect for people anymore? Nobody has respect for anybody anymore. I think it's disgusting, I really do," Scranton's Billy Nolan added.
"It just comes down to basic respect. I mean, you're able to have your opinion but that doesn't really change, you know, a street name," Archbald resident Kiera Flannery said.
The Scranton City Council voted in July to rename the Central Scranton Expressway and Spruce Street after Biden — a Scranton native, PAhomepage reported.
Thursday's graffiti isn't the first example of someone taking a public jab against a sitting president. In October of last year, a pro-Trump billboard in Houston was defaced to read "take Trump to Prison."
Newsweek reported that a group called Turn Texas Blue claimed responsibility for the vandalism.
"Trump put up a billboard in Houston last week. We fixed it," they reportedly tweeted.
Shortly after election day in November, a group of protesters vandalized a Democratic Party building in Portland, Oregon.
"Videos and pictures showed F**k Biden' and 'No presidents' as well as 'BLM'—short for Black Lives Matter—were among the phrases graffitied on the building," Newsweek reported at the time.
Update 10/25/2021 4:35 PM ET - The story's headline has been updated to reflect that the graffiti was found along Interstate 81 and not on the actual signage for the President Joseph R. Biden Jr. Expressway.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Sara Santora is a Newsweek reporter based in Florida. Her focus is reporting on viral social media posts and trends. ... Read more
