Easton woman charged for defacing political signs, placing swastika stickers around town

EASTON, Md. – An Easton woman is facing serious charges after police say she placed swastika stickers around the town.

On March 26th, Easton Police responded to the area of South Aurora Street and South Lane after a caller reported a political sign had been defaced. Officers found a sign for Town Council president Frank Gunsallus with a sticker of a swastika on it. They later found a second sign with the same sticker in the area. A third sign with a swastika sticker was found in the area of East Dover Street.

Detectives spoke with a man who lives in the area and were able to recover surveillance video. The footage showed a white female operating a blue Subaru Forester, who they identified as the person who had placed the stickers.

On April 1, officers responded to the area of Glenwood Avenue and South Washington Street about an anti-swastika sticker with a line through it on a stop sign. Officers found the same sticker in the areas of Port and South Washington Street, multiple locations on North Harrison Street, in front of the Tidewater Inn, and South Street and South Harrison Street.

Just shy of a month later, officers responded to the area of the Amish Market on Marlboro Avenue for vandalized political signs. Officers found two Frank Gunsallus signs with swastika stickers on them. They also found anti-swastika stickers on West Street and Bay Street, the 100 block of North Washington Street, Dover Street and Washington Street, and Brookletts Avenue and South Harrison Street.

Detectives identified the suspect as 53-year-old Jennifer Cristaudo. Search and seizure warrants were executed at her home and in her vehicle on May 6th. Police say they found evidence connecting Cristaudo to the stickers.

Cristaudo is charged with 20 counts of using a hate symbol to intimidate or threaten a person, malicious destruction of property, and a hate crime.