Swastikas and neo-nazi symbols were sprayed painted across the front of a stop sign in Lincoln County, Mississippi, are cause for concern for at least one nearby resident.

The unknown vandal or vandals used white spray paint on a stop sign at the intersection of Turkey Trail NE and Mission Hill Road to paint a swastika, Nazi SS bolts and the number “9” on the front of the sign and SS bolts on the rear.

Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Johnny Hall Jr. said he is not personally aware of any neo-Nazi activity in the county.

The SS bolts are a common white supremacist symbol derived from the Nazi-era symbol for the Schutzstaffel, literally “protective echelon,” whose members ranged from Gestapo agents to Waffen SS soldiers and concentration camp guards.

While unclear from the vandalism, the number nine written with the percentage symbol as 9% is sometimes used as a white supremacist symbol referring to the percentage of the world population that is purportedly white.

Defacing a public traffic control sign is a crime. Mississippi Code 65-7-23 (2019) states that any person who willfully defaces a traffic control sign will be guilty of a misdemeanor and — upon conviction — be liable for the actual cost of repair or replacement of the sign, and either fined $200-$500 or imprisoned in the county jail for six months or less, or both jailed and fined. If the offender is a minor, the parents or guardians will be held civilly liable for actual cost or repair or replacement of the sign.