Vile vandals target American flags at California college’s 9/11 memorial

Vandals defaced several American flags at a California college’s 9/11 memorial, scrawling antifa and pro-Palestinian messages at the solemn tribute to the nearly 3,000 killed in the terror attacks.

The memorial at California State University Stanislaus featured 2,977 American flags — one for each victim killed on Sept. 11, 2001 — as part of Young America’s Foundation’s annual “9/11: Never Forget Project.”

But several of the flags were spotted covered in protest slogans, including “Free Palestine,” “Blowback” and “161.” 

The number 161 is sometimes used as shorthand for “Anti-Fascist Action,” based on the positions of the letters A-F-A in the alphabet. “Blowback,” meanwhile, is a term commonly used to describe unintended and sometimes violent consequences stemming from government policies or covert operations.

University officials confirmed to the California Post that campus police received a report about vandalism at the memorial and have launched an investigation.

“The University Police Department at Stanislaus State received a report of the vandalism and is actively investigating the situation,” the university said in a statement.

YAF, the conservative youth organization behind the nationwide remembrance project, blasted the vandalism as “disgraceful” and said students should be able to commemorate the victims of the terror attacks without facing intimidation.

“Defacing a memorial honoring 2,977 innocent Americans is disgraceful,” the organization told the California Post.

“It is also part of a disturbing pattern of conservatives being targeted simply for exercising their right to speak and remember. Students should not have to fear vandalism or intimidation for honoring 9/11.”

The organization vowed the incident would not derail its annual effort to keep the memory of those killed alive.

“Twenty-five years later, we will not be bullied into silence, and we will never forget,” YAF said.

YAF’s “9/11: Never Forget Project” encourages students at schools across the country to build memorials commemorating the victims of the deadliest terrorist attack on US soil.

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The displays typically feature 2,977 American flags planted across campus lawns, creating a sea of red, white and blue representing each life lost in the attacks.

CSU Stanislaus is a public university located in Turlock, roughly 100 miles east of San Francisco.

University police did not identify any suspects in the alleged vandalism, and the investigation remains ongoing.