LYNN — Ward 6 Councilor Fred Hogan woke up Sunday to social media posts reporting that swastikas had been painted on the wall under the Bennett Street Bridge.
“I had just gotten up, and I was going to go to Walmart. I said to my wife, “Let’s just grab some spray paint. I’ll go down and take care of it,” Hogan said.
He purchased red and black spray paint and headed to the bridge with an idea in mind. “I already knew I was going to paint a heart over them. When I got there, somebody had already covered the smaller ones,” he said.
Hogan said that the larger swastikas were still there, so he painted hearts over both of them and left a message behind to go with the new art.
“One says ‘Love Lynn,’ and the other one says ‘Love Lives Here.’ It’s just not good. You can’t have this stuff in our city. I like to react to things quickly. I just got up and got out there,” he said, giving credit to his wife for the second quote.
He continued that though this hadn’t happened in his ward, it had occurred downtown.
“They were pretty good at taking care of it. Usually, you just put in a request real quick, and the sheriff’s department has graffiti removal, but obviously, it’s Sunday. Kids walk by there, and I don’t want people seeing that stuff, so I just reacted fast to get it off the wall,” he said.
In the end, he was firm in his message that hate wasn’t going to be allowed in Ward 6 or anywhere in the city.
