When D.C. Council at-large candidate A.J. Cooper heard that some of his signs had been vandalized with swastikas last night, he thought there could have been a mistake.

“It’d be like seeing a Klansman,” says Cooper. “It’s like, does this really happen anymore?”

Swastikas were drawn on at least two of Cooper’s signs on Connecticut Avenue, according to the candidate. After seeing the damage this morning, Cooper says he reported the crime to the police. For reference, an unvandalized Cooper sign looks like this.

Cooper, who is trailing his opponents in campaign funds, described himself as “a little pissed off and upset” about the vandalism. In a conversation with City Desk, he wondered what it would be like for a Holocaust survivor to see the swastikas.

It’s a mystery to Cooper why someone would draw the symbols on his signs. He thinks that it could be because the sign has his face on it. “Some folks say that I look North African or Middle Eastern, so maybe that was part of it,” he says.

Photo courtesy A.J. Cooper