Hochul denounces 'unacceptable' taping of swastikas on Albany GOP headquarters

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) on Thursday denounced the vandalization of the state GOP headquarters in Albany. Police say an individual taped swastikas and a message that read, "If this is not what you stand for, prove it," on the building's doors and windows overnight.

“This is unacceptable. No one should ever resort to violence or vandalism to make a political point,” Hochul wrote in a post on the social platform X. 

“Grateful for the swift response of the Albany Police Department to keep this location safe and hold those responsible for this despicable act accountable,” she added.

Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik (N.Y.) appeared to blame Democrats for allegedly motivating the crime with political rhetoric.

“New Yorkers haven’t forgotten that New York Democrats viciously and dangerously compared last year’s successful Trump Madison Square Garden Rally to Nazis and called President Trump ‘Hitler,’” she wrote in a post on Facebook, accompanied with images of the property.

“Americans rejected this dangerous rhetoric and overwhelmingly elected President Trump at the ballot box. And now less than a year later, the New York Republican State Committee Albany State headquarters was criminally vandalized with Nazi symbols. We must ensure this dangerous rhetoric stops and this vicious criminal who perpetrated this heinous crime be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” she added.

Her comments appeared to reference former Democratic vice presidential nominee and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz's statements last October, when he compared President Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden to a 1939 pro-Nazi event.

State GOP Chair Ed Cox echoed her sentiments, urging New York Democrats to condemn violent crime, which they later did.

“A vandal duct taped swastikas to our doors and windows — symbols of genocidal evil, meant to intimidate and silence,” he said in a statement.

“This is not only an attack on our party, it is also an attack on the values of civil discourse, democracy and decency,” he added.

The New York Democratic Party shared their concerns in a statement following Cox's lead.

Democrats dealt with similar issues of violence during last year's presidential campaign, forcing them to close their field office in Tempe, Ariz., after three shooting incidents.

“Hate has no place in our communities, and the New York State Democratic Party unequivocally condemns this shameful and inappropriate act,” the statement said. “We encourage New Yorkers across the political spectrum to denounce hate in all its forms.”

Police have not yet apprehended the suspect responsible for the Albany GOP headquarters crime.