A student attending Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland was apprehended on Thursday evening after his apparent involvement in two incidents of overt racist graffiti plastered on the college campus.
21-year-old Fynn Ajani Arthur was charged with two counts of malicious destruction of property after graffiti and swastikas were discovered inside one of the college’s dorm room and a bathroom stall. Baltimore County Police said on Friday that the biracial miscreant confessed to writing the racially charged graffiti, WBAL TV 11 reported.
Goucher College administrators said graffiti directed at Black and Latino students, was discovered on Thursday morning on a second floor dormitory bathroom stall. The racist drawings included swastikas, KKK letters and appeared to include the last names of four Black students, including Arthur himself.
During the student’s bail review, the judge asked him why he listed his own name in the racist graffiti. He responded, “That he has a lot of built-up anger with no way to vent on campus. When asked what caused him to commit the second graffiti incident, he replied he had been drinking and just did something dumb,” police charging documents stated.
The first incident, which took place on Nov. 14 inside the same dormitory but this time the graffiti included “a swastika symbol, a racially motivated threat, and three dormitory room numbers which were occupied by Black male students” written in permanent black marker.
(photo credit of Baltimore County Police/ Student charged with Racist Graffiti)
The vice president and dean of Goucher College, Bryan Coker, denounced the offensive acts and scolded Baltimore County police for not charging the 21-year-old student with a hate crime.
“These acts of hate have consumed our community and we feel strongly that the suspect should be prosecuted with the strongest charges, which reflect the seriousness of these crimes,” said Coker.
Officer Jennifer Peach, a spokeswoman for the police department said there’s no specific charge for a hate crime in Maryland according to the Baltimore Sun.
“It’s become like common jargon to call it a hate crime,” said Peach. “There’s no such law that says hate crime. It has to do with sentencing if hate is the motive.”
According to authorities, Arthur was released on his own recognizance following a bail review hearing on Friday.
Arthur’s parents reportedly told the news station, “We are surprised by this. He has not exhibited this type of behavior.”