'In God We Trust' sign outside Nassau County school vandalized

A sign outside a Nassau County school is causing some controversy.

Someone spray painted a black line through the line that says “In God We Trust.”

Some neighbors are upset about the vandalism, while others say that sign should have never been posted by Hilliard Middle-Senior High School.

As of Thursday night, the sign had been cleaned up but the idea that it happened will not be forgotten.

For Michelle Long, the vandalism of the sign makes her feel like the United States and her way of life is under attack.

“The hatred, the violence, it needs to come to a stop," Long said.

Hilliard is a small town of 3,000 people where everyone seems to know each other, and this incident is even worse since it comes during homecoming week.

“This is the school I went to, proud of this town," Long said.

Action News Jax first learned about the sign from a social media posting. The glass was hit with black spray paint, partially covering the phrase "In God We Trust."

Social media had comments such as “that’s so sad,” but one person wrote “doesn’t belong on school property, but that’s not the way to go about it.”

“That kind of makes me angry," said Shanin Baldwin.

Baldwin is also upset over the vandalism, and counters anyone who says a religious sign doesn't belong at a public school

“Well here it does, we believe in that, we pray at our schools," Baldwin said.

We reached out to the school and the Nassau County School District, but haven't heard back. We asked Melvin Jackson, a Korean War veteran, about the vandalism.

“Does it surprise you?”

“Not really, not in these days," he said.

We also reached out to the Nassau County Sheriff's Office. They said they hadn’t heard the incident, but will check and see if a police report was filed.

Cox Media Group