A campaign sign for Florida state Rep. Jervonte Edmonds near Southern Boulevard and Haverhill Road in West Palm Beach was defaced with profanity, a racial slur targeting the Black community and an antisemitic symbol, the lawmaker says. Edmonds, who represents District 88 and is seeking a third term in office, said the discovery left him hurt and shocked.
According to WPBF, the sign at that intersection was defaced with profanity followed by a racial slur for the Black community, along with damage that included an antisemitic symbol. Edmonds said a friend sent him a photo of the vandalized sign after the friend's teenage daughter first spotted the writing on the back of it. By the time Edmonds reached the intersection, he said the sign had already been removed, according to CBS12.
A Teenager Was First to See the Hate
What troubles Edmonds most, he told WPBF, is that a high school student was the first person to encounter the hateful language. He said his concern centers on how the incident could affect children and other community members who come across similar messages. Edmonds said signs like his are one of the primary ways candidates keep their names in front of voters, which makes an attack on a sign land differently than ordinary political sabotage.
This marks Edmonds' third campaign for state representative, and he said he has dealt with signs being damaged or stolen before. But per CBS12, he described this incident as unlike anything he has encountered in his previous campaigns. Edmonds said he did not file a police report, choosing instead to focus on the broader message about hate in the community rather than pursue a formal complaint.
Calling for Unity Across Palm Beach County
“We're a family here in Palm Beach County and wherever there's hate, wherever there's slander, we must, we have to stand together and root that hate out,” Edmonds said, per WPBF. He said Palm Beach County residents support one another across racial and religious backgrounds, and that the messages scrawled on his sign could leave a lasting impact on the community if left unaddressed.
CBS12 reported that a second Edmonds campaign sign near Village Boulevard and 45th Street in West Palm Beach appeared undamaged in images accompanying its report. As he heads into the 2027 legislative session in Tallahassee, Edmonds said he is weighing whether lawmakers should consider additional penalties for sign vandalism involving racial or antisemitic messages, according to CBS12's reporting. Florida law already provides enhanced penalties for some hate-motivated acts of vandalism, and state statute includes a provision, Florida Statutes Section 775.085, titled Evidencing prejudice while committing offense, reclassification.
Not an Isolated Incident Nationally
Campaign-sign vandalism tied to hate symbols has surfaced elsewhere this year. In Waxhaw, North Carolina, Union County school board candidate Alexis Stadler said one of her campaign signs was painted over with a black swastika and an antisemitic slur, according to QC News. The Union County Sheriff's Office is investigating that vandalism as ethnic intimidation, and Stadler said she has received multiple antisemitic messages during her campaign but does not plan to drop out of the race.
QC News also cited the American Jewish Committee's most recent annual report, which found that nine out of 10 American Jews felt less safe as Jewish people than they did the previous year. Separately, federal crime data cited by the outlet indicates that in 2025, 4,521 victims of hate crimes were victims of crimes against property, and 73.5% of those victims were victims of destruction, damage or vandalism, according to the FBI's Crime Data Explorer. Edmonds has not said whether he plans to pursue any formal legislative proposal beyond the discussions he is having ahead of the 2027 session.
