LONG ISLAND, Calif. (WLS) -- Vandals spray painted the word "illegal" on a man's van in Long Beach, Calif., and the man said he's a U.S. citizen.
Joe Solis said he first thought his van was parked illegally.
[Ads /]
Then he realized he was suddenly dealing with a possible hate crime.
Solis said he blamed the current climate in politics for the vandalism.
[Ads /]
He said many neighbors have been leaving encouraging notes on his door.
"All my neighbors have been coming through the neighbors I used to wave to, have been coming over to shake my hand. I'm getting notes on my door. Someone drives up to me and gives me a note that says 'Hey, we love you in our neighborhood and this shouldn't happen," he said.
Another car in the neighborhood and a banner at a church were also hit.
KCBS contributed to this report.