Graffiti linked to a white supremacist hate group has remained on a silo at a mulch lot off South 5th Street in East Nashville for more than a month, and city officials say the responsibility to remove it falls on the property owner.
The spray-painted tag includes a website address associated with Patriot Front. People familiar with the property owner say he did not create the graffiti and never gave permission for it to be there.
Metro Nashville opened a property standards case against the owner after the graffiti was discovered. District Councilmember Clay Capp said his office learned about it roughly three weeks ago and that the city acted quickly.
“The city immediately put a property standards case on the property owner,” Capp said. “It is private property. So the way the city can proceed on that is to ask the property owner, order the property owner to cover up the graffiti, which we’ve done. Deadline for re-inspection is this Monday. So it should be done by then.”
Capp noted that the city’s legal footing has nothing to do with the message itself. Any graffiti on private property triggers the same process.
“Property standards require that there be no graffiti on property. And so that is how the city is able to move forward on that,” he said.
What Happens If the Deadline Passes
Monday’s reinspection is the next checkpoint in the case. If the graffiti still isn’t gone by then, the city has further recourse.
“If it isn’t, the codes department can take the property owner to court. If that comes to pass, of course, I hope it doesn’t. But if it does, I’ll be urging that course of action,” Capp said.
He added that the property owner has cooperated with the city throughout the process. The mulching business currently has ice storm debris from Williamson County stored on the lot, and it’s still unclear whether the silo itself will be painted over or removed altogether.
“The city has moved on this with every tool it has. Re-inspection is on Monday,” Capp said.
Capp said his office has fielded concerns from neighbors since the graffiti was reported.
“It’s an appalling message,” he said. “I condemn it in the strongest possible terms. And the members of my community in East Nashville do as well.”
For now, Capp said his focus is on getting the graffiti taken down.
“I look forward to getting it covered up,” he said.
This is a developing story and will be updated as the reinspection deadline approaches.