Police Make Arrest in Anti-Immigration Graffiti Case

Evanston police on Monday arrested a 21-year-old man from Evanston and charged him in connection with anti-immigration graffiti .

One of the taggings, found on a CTA underpass at the intersection of Ridge Avenue and Lincoln Street, read, "Whites, do u (sic) want to become a minority? If so, support mass immigration."

Similar statements were also written in the following locations, according to police:

-1826 Central St.
-Lincoln Ave. and Greenbay Rd.
-Livingston St. and Greenbay Rd.
-900 Colfax St.
-Lincoln Ave. and Greenbay Rd.

City officials told Evanston Patch last month that as in all graffiti cases, they aimed to remove the political taggings as soon as possible.

(Read earlier: )

Police said in a statement about the arrests that they were alerted to the problem in July, and began surveillance on train viaducts on Evanston CTA and Metra lines after they noticed the graffiti popping up mainly in those areas.

At 2 a.m. Monday, police said they observed a man painting on the walls at Lincoln Avenue and Green Bay Road. When they attempted to approach the suspect, he fled on foot.

Police said they located a vehicle nearby that they traced back to the suspect and set up surveillance at the vehicle owner's residence. Police said the officers who initially witnessed the man spray painting identified the car owner as the same man, and he was arrested.

Daniel K. Schwartz, 21, of Evanston, was charged with six counts of criminal defacement of property. A court date has been set for Dec. 21 in Skokie.

A Facebook page that appears to be that of Schwartz lists support for anti-immigration causes and includes a photo gallery titled "Patriots: a.k.k Enemys (sic) of the P.C. Police" that highlights people who oppose immigration reform.

Discuss this issue further on Facebook.