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Serra vandalism gets uglier

November 16, 2020 by Marin Leave a Comment

The destruction of the Junipero Serra statue, above, resulted in five people charged with felony vandalism. 

The vandalism of the Junipero Serra statue at Mission San Rafael Arcangel got uglier last week when someone sent threatening letters to the Marin Museum of American Indian in Novato. 

Doug Fryday, the museum’s president, rreceived two letters that contained the words “anthrax” and “smallpox.” 

The Novato police and the Postal Service are investigating to determine the level of threat from the letters, which were largely incoherent.

On Columbus Day, about 40 people gathered to protest the display of the Serra statue on church grounds. It turned violent when people threw red paint on the statue and yanked it down. Five people have been charged with felony vandalism in the incident. 

Fryday told the Independent Journal that the museum will hold a community dialogue to address racism and reconciliation. 

“I am in this to assist with having people come to understand all of this much better and stop this horrible negative stuff that is going on,” Fryday said. 

Filed Under: Local News, Novato

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