ASHBURN, Va. — Five teenagers have been charged with vandalism after police say they spray-painting racist messages and vulgar images on a historic African-American schoolhouse in Loudoun County.
The teens were charged with felony destruction of property and misdemeanor entering property of another for the purpose of damaging it. Police said teens, four 16-year-olds and one 17-year-old, live near the schoolhouse.
They are accused of spray-painting “white power,” swastikas, and profanities on the schoolhouse in the overnight hours of October 1.
The single-room 19th century schoolhouse offered black children in northern Virginia a rare opportunity to receive an education, offering classes during the height of segregation for more than six decades.
Their names are not being released because they are juveniles.
Since the spray-painting incident, the school house has been restored with the help from over 600 volunteers and local retailers who donated supplies.