The man authorities say defaced the county Republican headquarters by spray-painting the words “rape” and “shame” on the building described himself as an “artist” and told a television reporter on the day the graffiti were discovered that the vandal or vandals had gotten their message across, according to RR Star.
“It’s all part of a curious sequence of events that culminated when Timothy A. Damm stripped to his underwear inside a police station while being questioned about the crime, according to police.
Officials held a news conference Tuesday announcing that Damm, 42, of Rockford had been charged with criminal defacement of property over $500 and resisting a police officer. The graffiti were discovered Sunday morning by a police officer on patrol.
Damm lives less than a block away from Winnebago County Republican headquarters, 515 N. Court St., according to court records. No one answered the door Tuesday morning at his address when a reporter knocked.
“Somebody labeled them for what they are; I’m happy about that,” Damm told WTVO on Sunday. He said the culprits had gotten the message across that “Republican equals rape.”
As Reported By Fox:
A local Republican party office in Illinois was vandalized over the weekend with the words “rape” and “shame” painted across the building.
The words covered multiple sides of the Winnebago County Republican Headquarters’ facade and were painted in multiple colors.
“We can have our differences. We can have good spirited debate. I hope whoever is responsible for this will be brought to justice,” state Rep. John Cabello, a Republican, said in a Facebook post. “You are a coward for doing it unless you come forward!”
The graffiti was spotted by a police officer before 10 a.m. on Sunday, according to the Rockford Register Star. The Rockford, Illinois building is shared with the law office of Shiver, O’Neill and Thompson.