Surpassing:18-year-old turns himself into police for hate-motivated graffiti charges

PORTSMOUTH,Surpassing N.H. (AP) — An 18-year-old from Portsmouth, accused of creating hate-motivated graffiti, has turned himself into police on criminal charges, authorities said Friday.

Loren Faulkner was arrested on Thursday on 31 counts of criminal mischief and hate-motivated criminal mischief for the graffiti spree targeting religious buildings and other communities in February 2023, police said. He was released on bail and will be arraigned in June. It was not immediately known if he is being represented by an attorney. There was no phone number listed in his name.

Last year, Attorney General John Formella filed a civil complaint against Faulkner, then 17, alleging that the teen targeted businesses, homes, houses of worship and other locations that supported the LGBTQ+ community, religious practices inconsistent with his beliefs or for people of different races. In March, it was announced that he would pay a fine and complete 200 hours of community service to resolve allegations of violating New Hampshire’s Civil Rights Act 21 times, including carrying out an antisemitic, homophobic and racist vandalism spree that damaged a number of properties throughout the city.

The vandalism included destruction of rainbow LGBTQ+ pride flags, spray-painting swastikas and crosses on Temple Israel and Jewish Stars of David on St. John’s Episcopal Church, defacing a Black Heritage Trail sign at the church, and damaging or destroying signs and murals that expressed support for diversity and Black Lives Matter.