Vandals have struck the Friends Meeting House at 938 Main Road, spray-painting over a portion of the "Black Lives Matter" sign raised by the Friends just over a year ago.

The Friends' Susan Czernicka said Freinds first noticed the damage about a week and a half before Christmas. Though their large BLM sign just off Main Road is covered by a protective plexiglass shield, she said vandals pried back a corner of that plexiglass sheet and sprayed black paint underneath, partially obscuring the sign's text.

While they search for someone who can repair the damage, she said the Friends are also looking to have a second sign — "Hate Has No Home Here" — made up. It will likely be draped over or with the original sign, she said.

Though the Friends reported the recent vandalism to the Westport police, there is little to go on as Czernicka said the Friends do not want to install security cameras and are not interested in prosecuting.

This is not the first time the Friends have faced such vandalism. The large, permanent Black Lives Matter sign that now sits on the front lawn replaces several earlier signs, which were stolen over the summer and fall of 2021.