Swastikas, the n-word, antisemitic statements and homophobic slurs were spray-painted on the sidewalk and road outside St. James Church in Mukwonago, marking the second time in about a month that hate-filled graffiti has turned up at the same spot. Mukwonago police responded to the scene at 7:38 a.m. Tuesday, and investigators said there were no suspects identified at the time.
The graffiti was discovered on the sidewalk next to the church and along Veterans Way, according to TMJ4 News. Police told the outlet the vandalism appeared for the second time in about a month, and investigators believe St. James Church was not the intended target of the hateful messages. As reported by Spectrum News 1, the writings are believed to have gone up during the evening of Monday or in the early hours of Tuesday morning, and police said the incident could be related to a similar one that happened at the same location in early September.
A man identified only as Jerry, who lives nearby, told TMJ4 this was the second time he had seen the graffiti appear, and said swastikas were still visible along Veterans Way. Trish Hoth, who attends St. James Church, said the vandalism was not a good sign for Mukwonago and that she is praying for the church and its congregation.
Cleanup Already Underway Again
City crews in Mukwonago removed the graffiti from the Veterans Way sidewalk by sandblasting it, the station reported. Per Spectrum News 1, Public Works was also working to remove the writings and repair the damage near the church. Mukwonago police are seeking information about both this incident and the earlier one from September, and anyone with details is urged to contact the Village of Mukwonago Police Department.
Part of a Statewide Surge
The Milwaukee Jewish Federation has reported that antisemitic incidents in Wisconsin have risen year over year, a trend borne out in the organization's own numbers. According to the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, confirmed antisemitic incidents statewide surged to 174 in 2025, an 83% jump from the year before — and a 923% increase since 2015. The federation's audit found that incidents involving Holocaust distortion and Nazi imagery rose 45% in 2025 and made up 36% of all reported cases, while 18% involved threats, harassment, assaults or violence against Jewish community members.
The same audit found Jewish organizations accounted for 13% of reported incidents statewide, and anti-Israel or anti-Zionist collective-blame rhetoric appeared in 58% of reported cases. The federation also noted that many incidents likely go unreported due to fear, uncertainty or concerns about retaliation. A related report from CBS 58 found that 55% of Jews surveyed said they had changed their behavior in the past year out of fear of antisemitism.
Federal data adds a caveat to how these trends are measured: the U.S. Department of Justice notes that 2021 was the first year annual hate-crime statistics were reported entirely through the FBI's National Incident-Based Reporting System, and that law-enforcement participation in submitting crime statistics fell significantly between 2020 and 2021. No suspect, arrest or formal hate-crime classification has been confirmed in connection with the Mukwonago case. For now, police continue to ask the public for tips as cleanup crews work to erase the second round of hateful messages from the village's streets.
