A woman was charged Monday for posting Nazi propaganda posters at Newport Harbor High School and Fullerton College, the Orange County District Attorney announced this week.
Grace Elisabeth Ziesmer, 22, of Fullerton, has been charged with one misdemeanor count of vandalism under $400 and two misdemeanor counts of graffiti, OCDA Todd Spitzer explained in a statement released on Monday.
Ziesmer is accused of posting Nazi propaganda posters on city light poles near Fullerton College on March 4, according to the OCDA. A few days later on March 11, she allegedly posted Nazi propaganda posters on Newport Harbor High School’s property.
The posting of Nazi propaganda, which included swastikas, SS mottos, and other neo-Nazi statements, is a hate incident, the OCDA noted.
“Hate does not belong here. It does not belong anywhere,” Spitzer said in the prepared statement. “The Orange County District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting hate crimes and hate incidents to the fullest extent of the law. I am not going to tolerate hate in Orange County.”
According to the OCDA’s office, Ziesmer was not charged with a hate crime enhancement due to a lack of sufficient evidence that her conduct was directed at a particular victim for being Jewish.
“It could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant’s conduct was directed at the schools because of their connection with the Jewish people or the Jewish religion, based on the evidence and interviews conducted in the case,” the statement reads.
If convicted of all charges, Ziesmer faces a maximum sentence of one year and six months in Orange County jail.
Ziesmer is scheduled to appear at the Harbor Justice Center at 8:30 a.m. on June 6.
Deputy District Attorney Jake Jondle of the Special Prosecutions unit is prosecuting this case.
