Racial intimidation escalates in Arroyo Grande
As the trial date of four alleged white supremacist draws near, intimidation of a mixed race family in Arroyo Grande has escalated.
On Saturday, the alleged victim of an earlier cross burning discovered someone had spray painted the name of a white supremacist gang and a cross on a wall across from her Elm Street home using a pre-made template. The vandalism faced the site of an earlier cross burning.
On March 18, shortly after midnight, an African American teenage girl heard loud noises coming from her yard. She went outdoors and stood on their back porch, but saw no one.
She then went back to her bedroom, turned off the light and saw an 11-foot cross burst into flames directly outside her window. She yelled to her mother, and called police.
The cross had been stolen from St. John’s Lutheran Church in Arroyo Grande on March 1.
The family, which has lived in the area for 10 years, is not being named to protect their privacy. However, for this article we will refer to the mother as Anna.
Earlier today, Anna left her daughter at home to have breakfast with a friend. She arrived home to see the words “Elm St. Woods” with a the “T” looking like a cross on the wall facing the site of the earlier cross burning.
The “peckerwoods” is the name of a California based skinhead gang, known to trade in methamphetamine. A few decades ago, the abbreviated term “woods” entered California prison slang.