A $50,000 reward was offered when “racist graffiti” was discovered in a porta potty at a construction site, which led to the dismissal of all 1,300 employees. The sheriff’s office then launched a criminal investigation after the graffiti caused such uproar.
The message was discovered on the door that faced the inside of the porta-potty in Eagle Mountain. The words “Kill a n***** day 11/29”were written inside the structure’s door in what seemed to be a black marker, according to images shared on Twitter by the UCSO. Mortenson Construction informed its 1,300 employees about the graffiti as soon as the slur and the threat were discovered and then decided to send them home as a precaution, while authorities investigated the incident.
***Correction*** The construction project on the Facebook data center in @eaglemtncity is ongoing and is still under the control of Mortensen Construction. They discovered the racial slur and reported it and posted the $50,000 reward for information identifying a suspect. https://t.co/7QdwIPiTmx
The Mortenson Construction announced a $50,000 reward for information regarding the identity of the culprit, as they quickly released a statement condemning the racist message and explaining the decision to send its workers home.
The company said, “Mortenson’s priority is the safety and welfare of our team members and all people on our projects. We are investigating bias-motivated graffiti found today on the Eagle Mountain project site. We strongly condemn any form of racism or bigotry, and we have a clear, zero-tolerance anti-harassment, anti-discrimination policy,
“We stopped work today to immediately and directly address this situation with team members and project partners, underscore our team’s anti-harassment policy and restate our expectations for conduct on site. There is a $50,000 reward for information leading to the identification of the individual(s) responsible.”
Condemning the graffiti and vowing to make changes to operations going forward, Facebook Inc., which has since changed its name to Meta Platforms in a rebranding effort has also issued a statement.
“Meta, formerly Facebook, has zero tolerance for any racist acts, while this is a challenge facing the entire industry, we’re working with our general contractors to implement measures that will help prevent them at any of our construction sites,” a spokesperson for the company said.
Public Information Officer Sgt. Spencer Cannon insisted that the threat be taken seriously.
Sgt. Spencer Cannon, the public information officer, posted pictures of the graffiti on social media and received the comment “white lives matter,” which he promptly rejected. He asserted that because the graffiti doesn’t target “crackers,” white people aren’t as seriously threatened by violence.
Cannon wrote,“But we must recognize the fact that people aren’t generally writing bathroom wall graffiti that says ‘Kill a cracker day 11/29.’ So in that light your statement is insensitive at the very least and should be kept to yourself.
KUTV report added, citing officials that the message was not aimed at a specific person, and there is no evidence of any intention to act upon it. And, because the construction site is a secure area, authorities are convinced that this vandalism act is probably an inside job.
