Five teens have been charged for spray-painting vulgar and racist graffiti on a historic schoolhouse in Ashburn, Virginia, police say.
Three 16-year-old boys from Sterling, one 17-year-old boy from Sterling, and one 16-year-old boy from Ashburn, have been served juvenile petitions, the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office said. They were connected to the crime earlier this month.
The spray-painted messages on the schoolhouse included vulgar images, swastikas and racist phrases such as "White Power."
According to the sheriff's office, the Office of the Loudoun Commonwealth’s Attorney determined the case did not meet the legal requirements for a hate crime.
Police charged the teens with felony destruction of property and misdemeanor entering property of another for the purpose of damaging it. They have been charged as minors.
The one-room schoolhouse was built in the 19th century to educate African American children. Two weeks after the vandalism, volunteers worked to restore the historic building.
