A swastika was spray-painted over U.S. Rep. Randy Fine's campaign sign at an early voting location in Flagler Beach, and police are now investigating the vandalism as a possible hate crime. The defaced sign sat on government property at the polling site, just over a week before Fine faces four rivals in the August 18 Republican primary for Florida's 6th Congressional District.
Flagler Beach police confirmed they are investigating the incident, according to FOX 35 Orlando, which first reported the defacement. Fine, who is Jewish, publicly condemned the act on Monday and directly blamed political opponents, urging voters to reject what he called “Nazis” at the ballot box, according to MEAWW. Fine also raised the possibility that federal authorities could examine the vandalism as potential voter suppression, per his own statement.
A Law Fine Himself Helped Write
The vandalism falls squarely under a Florida statute that Fine co-sponsored while serving in the state legislature. House Bill 269, enacted in April 2023, made defacing property with hate symbols or displaying swastikas without permission a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison, per reporting from WUSF. The bill passed following a spike in antisemitic incidents statewide at the time.
Florida has used similar hate-crime and criminal mischief statutes before. In September 2023, law enforcement arrested a man for displaying swastika banners from an Orlando highway overpass, a case in which investigators linked the suspect to an antisemitic extremist group, according to AP News. Whether the Flagler Beach case will result in charges under HB 269 remains to be seen, as no suspect has been identified.
Antisemitic Incidents Remain Elevated in Florida
The Flagler Beach sign vandalism arrives amid persistently high levels of antisemitic activity across the state. An Anti-Defamation League report published in July found Florida recorded 319 antisemitic incidents in 2025, including 98 cases of vandalism, placing the state fourth in the nation, according to the Jewish Press. While that figure marked a 10% drop from 2024, incidents remained nearly 20% higher than pre-October 2023 levels.
Nationally, the trend moved in a different direction. Total antisemitic incidents fell 33% in 2025 to 6,274 cases, according to AP News, though physical assaults hit a record high of 203 incidents and overall levels stayed 70% above pre-2023 figures. The national decline was driven largely by a 66% drop in reported incidents on college campuses.
A Competitive Primary With High Stakes
The vandalism lands in the middle of a crowded, high-profile primary. Florida's 6th Congressional District, which covers six counties from south of St. Augustine through Daytona Beach and carries an R+14 partisan lean, will decide among five Republican candidates on August 18, according to Florida Politics. Fine was sworn into Congress in April 2025 after winning a special election, per Ballotpedia.
Fine enters the primary with a substantial financial edge. Campaign finance reports from April showed he held nearly $762,000 in cash on hand, outpacing his primary challengers, after raising more than $200,000 in the first quarter of the year, Florida Politics reported. The sign vandalism is not the first security concern to trail Fine's tenure; in April, federal authorities disrupted an Iranian-linked cyber phishing operation that impersonated Newsmax to target his digital accounts, as Hoodline reported at the time.
Fine has also pushed legislation targeting political symbols and signage on public property. In November 2025, Florida lawmakers introduced a bill to ban political and ideological flags on government property, building on a 2024 proposal Fine originally sponsored, according to the Florida Phoenix. That measure would impose $500 daily fines on noncompliant government entities. No suspect has been named in the Flagler Beach vandalism, and Flagler Beach police have not indicated whether charges will be filed as the investigation continues.
