At least three families in the San Diego County town of Coronado, California woke up Wednesday morning to find that signs saying “Racism Lives Here: Make America Great Again” had been placed on their lawns overnight. They had one thing in common — they had Trump signs or flags in their front yards.

A San Diego County couple who have a large Trump 2020 flag fluttering on their porch, told @nbcsandiego they were "shocked" and "sad" to learn the "Racism Lives Here" signs had been installed. https://t.co/AXlJqbXHzj

— NBC Los Angeles (@NBCLA) October 29, 2020

As seen in the tweet above, it looks like actual Trump/Pence signs were used and modified.

Coronado Island is located across the San Diego Bay from downtown San Diego and is home to Naval Base Coronado, a consortium of eight Navy installations and is also home to four SEAL teams.

A spokeswoman for the city’s police department said that there was no crime committed by placing the unwanted signs on people’s lawns, but that the department is reviewing security camera footage provided by some of the homeowners.

There might not have been a crime committed, but does anyone believe for one second that the investigation would be entirely different, and the publicity afforded to it multiplied exponentially, had the signs been actual racist signs placed on the lawns of black or Latino families?

Coronado City Councilman Bill Sandke told KPBS:

“First I heard about it was the social media buzz that was created by folks posting pictures in their front yard and saying in what poor spirit this was when it comes to politics — and I agree.

“I certainly don’t disagree that having somebody call you a racist is very difficult thing to have happen. Coronado is a passionate town and when those passions percolate into disagreements between neighbors — that’s problematic.”

City Manager Blair King said:

“Neighbors in Coronado are respectful of each other and each other’s point of view. After the election, I am sure that Coronado will work hard to unite as one community.”

Let’s hope that’s the case, but it’s a naive expectation.