Sandusky underpass vandalized with Nazi graffiti

SANDUSKY — Police arrested a Sandusky man on Monday for allegedly vandalizing a city underpass with Nazi and white supremacist graffiti. Austin J. Rogers, 23, of the 100 block of Perry St., was charged with two counts of vandalism, a fifth-degree felony. Sandusky police received a report on Saturday that someone had spray-painted swastikas and other white nationalist symbols on the wall of the Columbus Avenue underpass, known by some locals as the subway. When officers arrived, they observed red spray paint on the western wall of the underpass, according to a police report. The Register viewed photos of the graffiti but is not republishing the images. Officers took photos of the graffiti for evidence and then contacted the city's street department, which covered up the graffiti shortly after. "Our crews responded immediately to remove these symbols," said Sandusky city manager John Orzech, noting this incident remains under investigation. "This type of hateful symbolism has no place in our community, and we condemn it in the strongest terms," Orzech said. Sandusky is committed to being a place where all people can feel safe and respected, and we will continue to work diligently to maintain and protect those values." One of the vandalism charges relates to another similar allegation of vandalizing Shoreline Park in February. In a separate case, Rogers faces one fifth-degree felony-level ethnic intimidation charge for an incident back in September where he allegedly "left bags containing rice and fliers with racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic language on porches of homes in at least two different Sandusky neighborhoods." Rogers was booked into the Erie County Jail on Monday. His bond information wasn't immediately available.