A banner with Arabic-style writing was seen hanging from a Texas building. (FOX34)
A Texas mayor wants federal agents to investigate after a black banner with Arabic-style writing was seen mysteriously hanging from the top of a government-owned building on Monday.
The banner, draped from the roof of Citizens Tower in Lubbock, was black with a red heart in the center and the words “alhab lljamie” printed in white. An Arabic-speaking source translated that to “love all,” according to FOX34. The flag was stabilized with two cinder blocks, Lubbock Online reported.
Mayor Glen Robertson asked City Manager James Loomis to have the flag removed from the building, which was formerly known as the Omni Building.
“I have sent Mr. Loomis an email requesting that we remove the Arabic flag from the Omni building, that we take all steps necessary to secure the building and that Chief [Greg] Stevens notify the Department of Homeland Security, FBI and the Lubbock Sheriff’s Office,” Robertson said in a public statement.
“It is premature to come to conclusions before we can gather more facts but I believe that we must take this situation seriously in light of current national and international events.”
Stevens said the sheriff’s department had received three reports of trespassing at Citizens Tower since 2014. The building, mostly vacant except for construction work, is surrounded by equipment and the banner case is being treated as a trespassing investigation.
“Even though the message seems to be innocuous and well-meaning, that was not the best way to go about spreading the message,” Councilman Victor Hernandez told Lubbock Online.
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