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Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich has released a statement following the vandalism of a historically black church in Potomac, claiming that the vandals acted in an act of racism.
On the night of Friday, Nov. 25, vandals attacked the Scotland African Methodist Episcopal Church in Potomac, with authorities releasing images of the suspects in an attempt to identify them, as previously reported by Daily Voice.
"It saddens me greatly that we continue to witness more racist and hate-filled vandalism in our County", stated Elrich. "Throughout our nation's history, Black churches have been a refuge and safe space to avoid racism, hate, prejudice, and injustices. At the epicenter of the civil rights movement were the Black churches. They also have been targets of hate, violence and intimidation. It is a shame that, despite our efforts to make our Country more inclusive, there are still those who hate so much that they desecrate one of our solemn, sacred and historic landmarks like Scotland AME".
Elrich continued on, condemning the actions of the vandals, and repeatedly stood with the church and community in an effort to speak out against hate crimes and locate those responsible.
"An attack on a house of worship or people anywhere in our community, is an attack on all of us", Elrich continued. "Hate has no place in Montgomery County. We are going to continue to work with our interfaith and nonprofit communities to ensure that their members, congregants, and property is safe and secure".
An investigation by Montgomery County Police remains open in this matter. A reward of up to $10,000 is being offered for information that leads to arrests.
Anyone with any knowledge or information about these crimes is asked to contact the Montgomery County Police Department as soon as possible. If you have information about any bias/hate crime incident, please call 301-279-8000 to report it.
Any houses of worship or historically Black community organizations that encounter similar acts of vandalism should report incidents through the hotline as well.
Faith organizations that experience a hate crime or incident can also reach out to the Faith Community Liaison with the Office of Community Partnerships for support and information at interfaith@montgomerycountymd.gov
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