Spokane police investigate vandalism of county GOP headquarters as hate crime

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Spokane Police are investigating the vandalism of the Spokane County Republican headquarters as a hate crime.

A person used marker to scrawl "Refugees welcome" and "Nazi scum" across the front door and windows of the GOP office. Local Republican Party chairwoman Stephanie Cates said she was notified of the vandalism Sunday morning. Officer Shane Phillips, a spokesman for the Spokane Police Department, said the crime is being investigated as malicious harassment - commonly called a hate crime.

On Sunday hundreds of protesters marched through downtown Spokane in opposition to President Donald Trump's action barring people from certain Muslim nations from the United States.

The marchers chanted "let them in" as cars passing by honked horns.