.@MayorFung lawn sign hangs from a noose at a home in Chepachet among signs for other candidates. No answer at the door. Fung campaign calls it “hateful” and “plain disgusting”. #RIGov2018 #RIPoli -SK #WPRO pic.twitter.com/eIrHOmx0GQ

— NewsTalk 99.7 & AM 630 WPRO (@wpro) September 18, 2018

By WPRO News and The Associated Press

Mayor Allan Fung’s gubernatorial campaign expressed disgust after one of their campaign signs was found hanging on a noose in a yard in Chepachet on Tuesday. The yard also featured signs supporting GOP candidate for U.S. Senate Bob Flanders and independent candidate for governor Joe Trillo.

Homeowner Ray Izzo said he’s upset Fung didn’t participate in the typical series of debates before the primary and believes he’s within his rights to keep the display, according to WJAR-TV . He said it’s not about race, it’s about taxes.

“I think this is plain disgusting. This hateful symbol which many of us have hopefully long forgotten is reappearing in this campaign, has no real place in our modern society, and it’s just shameful,” Fung told reporters. “I’m not going to let that deter me from my campaign. I believe the people of Rhode Island are better than this.”

Trillo and Flanders both said they don’t condone the conduct and they feel the display should be taken down. In a statement, Flanders called for Izzo to take down the sign immediately and asked that his campaign signs be returned from the property.

“The display is loaded with the baggage of a hateful history and extremely disrespectful towards Mayor Fung, an Asian-American leader of one of our great cities,” his statement said.

“I’m disappointed that some people choose to express their feelings in that kind of manner,” Trillo said. “It’s an unfortunate situation.”

A very animated Izzo spoke with WPRO’s Dan Yorke later Tuesday afternoon, saying he returned some of his other campaign signs and that he’s sorry. He reiterated that he hung the sign because he was upset by Fung’s lack of debate participation.

“It was just a spare of the moment thing, there was no animosity behind it, there was no malice behind it, there was no intent behind it. I just did it, and that was it,” he said.

Izzo also said he asked Fung’s campaign to have Fung call him personally so he could apologize. Listen to the conversation below: