TOLEDO, Ohio, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Swastikas were found painted Tuesday on campaign signs around Toledo, Ohio, for Rich Iott, a former Nazi re-enactor.
An Iott sign on Anthony Wayne Trail near downtown Toledo was defaced, and in Sylvania, his signs were plastered with a swastika-adorned document saying, "You are what you pretend Mr. Iott," The Toledo Blade reported.
Republican Iott is challenging Democratic incumbent Marcy Kaptur to represent Ohio's 9th Congressional District. He issued a statement saying the vandalism was offensive, "especially [to] those of the Jewish faith."
"I also hope the Kaptur campaign, and those who are pushing this false story of Nazism, will stop inciting these hateful actions," he said.
Iott says he condemns the Holocaust despite participating in a group re-enacting the Waffen-SS Wiking Division.
"Obviously we condemn vandalism of any kind, including that of political signs," said Kaptur spokeswoman Mary Chris Skeldon. "For him to blame the actions of others on our campaign is ridiculous and a sign of desperation."
