FBI joins investigation into Emory frat house graffiti

By Alexis Stevens

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The FBI has joined the investigation into offensive graffiti painted on a Jewish fraternity house at Emory University, the university said Tuesday night.

Early Sunday, the Alpha Epsilon Pi house was targeted, within hours of the observance of Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year in Judaism. Additional anti-Semitic marks were found Monday on a wall near the fraternity, an Emory spokeswoman said.

The graffiti, including swastikas, was painted over quickly. By Sunday night, the Emory president decried the actions in a campus-wide message. Other community groups also condemned the acts.

“The Emory Police requested assistance from the FBI soon after Emory began its investigation and will continue to work in partnership with the FBI throughout the investigation,” Emory spokeswoman Beverly Clark said in an emailed statement Tuesday night.

Anyone with information regarding the incident should contact the
FBI Atlanta Division at 404-679-9000.

A Jewish fraternity at Emory University was spray painted with swastikas (CNN)

(CNN) -- A Jewish fraternity at Atlanta's Emory University was spray painted with swastikas Sunday morning -- shortly after the end of one of the holiest days in Judaism.

The university said campus police are investigating and have stepped up patrols after the incident at the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity house.

The swastikas and other graffiti were discovered early Sunday morning, hours after the end of Yom Kippur, or the day of atonement.

"Among the many pernicious things the swastika symbolizes, in the last century it represented the most egregious and determined undermining of intellectual freedom and truth-seeking," Emory President Jim Wagner said. "In short, its appearance on our campus is an attack against everything for which Emory stands."

Last month, someone drew swastikas inside the campus library.

The fraternity has been a fixture at Emory since 1920.