Vidya Nair’s two young children were on a bike ride in their Ashburn neighborhood with their grandparents when they first noticed the words scrawled in black marker on a public trail sign.
“No Hindus,” the message said, in lopsided letters.
Since July, five similar incidents of vandalism in Ashburn’s Brambleton community have been reported to authorities and the Brambleton homeowner’s association. The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the cases, and the homeowner’s association announced a $500 reward this week to help identify those responsible for the graffiti.
Nair, who is Hindu, said she was surprised and saddened to see such a disparaging message in her community.
“I’ve been in this country for 14 years, and never once have I seen something like this or been exposed to something like this,” Nair said. “Loudoun . . . is so diverse. You don’t expect to see it here.”
Most of the reported cases involved similar messages — “No Hindus allowed” or “No Hindus, by order of Mosby’s Rangers” — written in black sharpie on neighborhood trail signs in the Brambleton community, authorities said. In the most recent case, a concrete barrier was spray-painted near Forest Manor Drive earlier this month, according to the sheriff’s office.
Liz Mills, spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office, said the cases remain under investigation. Authorities were not certain of the meaning behind the “Mosby’s Rangers” reference in this context, she noted. The name generally refers to a rebel Confederate battalion led by Col. John S. Mosby during the Civil War.