Swastikas Found Spraypainted On NJ Congressional Candidate's Home

UNION, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A Democrat running for Congress in central New Jersey said he found hateful graffiti sprayed at his home – and he blames his opponent's support of Donald Trump.

The Republican opponent said he condemns the vandalism and supports an investigation.

Peter Jacob said it has happened twice – swastikas scrawled in orange, first on the sidewalk and then at his home in Union.

"It's very upsetting," Jacob said. "It's very saddening for us to see this."

Jacob is Indian-American, running against U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance, a Trump supporter. Jacob said he has no doubt that Lance's support of Trump was to blame for the incidents.

"When your national message is to teach America to hate again, you know it's definitely going to inspire those and trickle down nationally," Jacob said.

Jacob said Lance's Facebook page recently shared a blog post featuring his image alongside Orlando nightclub shooter Omar Mateen. It has apparently been deleted since, Silverman reported.

The Lance campaign released a statement in response to the claims.

"The display of anti-Semitic hate symbols like the swastika is abhorrent," the statement said. "Leonard Lance stands with Peter Jacob in condemning these offensive acts of vandalism and supports a full police investigation into these crimes."

The statement further said Lance has requested to attend a news conference at Jacob's home on Tuesday and has asked to speak to Jacob personally about the incidents "in an effort to show bipartisan unity against racism."

The Lance campaign also said Jacob supporters have launched personal attacks on Lance's social media platforms.

Jacob said he will have to think over the offer from Lance to attend the news conference.