Spokane immigration advocate finds racist sign in front yard

SPOKANE, Wash. -- An immigration advocate awoke to a racist placard stuck to her front yard Wednesday morning, not long after she returned from Washington D.C. where she marched for immigration rights.

Lena Negrete said the sign read "White Lives Matter More!"

Swastikas and references to the KKK were also painted on the sign.

The placard was posted just feet away from where a "Black Lives Matter" poster has sat since the summer.

Negrete said she snapped a photo of the sign and took it down. She said she worried students at an elementary school just two blocks away would spot the sign on their way to school.

"I took it down and called police right away," Negrete said.

She sent the picture of the sign to a friend, who posted it on her Facebook page. The post quickly garnered attention, being shared more than 100 times.

Negrete, a Mexican-American, told Q13 News police are investigating the sign as a hate crime. Calls to Spokane Police were not immediately returned. KHQ reported that police took the sign into evidence.

Negrete said this is the first time she has ever had any racially charged messages directed at her in Spokane. A strong advocate of immigration rights, Negrete returned this week from Washington D.C. where she advocated for immigrants' rights.

Negrete said the community of immigration advocates in Spokane is strong, and the sign came as a shock.

"I was shocked, I was super surprised," Negrete said about finding the sign. "You see hate crimes popping up more and more."

Negrete said members of the Spokane City Council have reached out to her, expressing their disgust with the sign.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.