'One Love': Newbury Park Freeway Signs Push Back Against Recent Hate

AGOURA HILLS, CA — Massive banners popped up over the state Route 101, Ventura Freeway, on Saturday in response to recent white supremacist messages being hung over the freeway.

White supremacist messages were first spotted over the Borchard Road overpass on Feb. 12, The Acorn reported. A second round of banners with white supremacist messaging went up on Borchard Road overpass on March 12, based on photos posted to social media. Banners at both incidents contained language identified by the Anti-Defamation League as a white supremacist slogan.

Saturday's banners, which were dropped off the Borchard Road overpass, had the phrase "One Love" next to a heart symbol and a crossed out swastika, pushing back on the recent white supremacist imagery.

Saturday's "One Love" banners were created by Newbury Park resident Andrew Goetz, according to Dawn Megli, reporter with the Thousand Oaks Acorn.

"I hated what they were doing. I wanted to show there are people who feel a different way," Goetz told Megli.

The Ventura County Sheriff's Office investigated and monitored the white supremacist banners perviously draped over the freeway but found no criminal conduct, the office said. Even still, they said they would take additional measures to "ensure the safety of pedestrians and motorists during these demonstrations."

"While we clearly recognize this is an incident of hate speech, deputies determined no criminal conduct had occurred & their actions were protected under the First Amendment," the office said on Twitter.

Thousand Oaks City Council in February condemned the hateful banners and adopted an anti-hate resolution, according to the Ventura County Star. Thousand Oaks Mayor Bob Engler reinforced the council's stance after the March incident.

Among many other local elected officials, Agoura Hills Mayor Deborah Klein Lopez responded to the banner incident in March.

"White supremacy has no shelter in our backyard, and must be confronted wherever it lies," State Senator Henry Stern (D-Los Angeles) said in a Tweet.