Graffiti seen on East Johnson and other downtown street uses Nazi symbols.
Editor's note: Isthmus is reposting this article first published in June 2022 with an update on recent developments.
In April, the Tenney-Lapham neighborhood Facebook page alerted followers to suspicious bikes, affixed with bright colored signs, that were locked to street poles in front of Gates of Heaven on Gorham and near Tenney Park on Johnson.
“Heads up this is happening near your neighborhood (in front of Gates of Heaven Synagogue) these are nazi SS symbols being displayed in a non-obvious way by a local Neo-nazi,” wrote poster Leah Rose on the neighborhood page. “Please tear [the signs] down if you see it.”
The bike near Tenney, by the bridge over the Yahara River, featured signs that read “Stop Speeding” and “Speeding KillS,” both using the characteristic SS bolts derived from the Schutzstaffel (SS) of Nazi Germany.
The bikes have since been removed by…we aren’t exactly sure. But in the course of looking into this oddly subtle use of hate symbols, Tell Dylan located the man behind them. His name is Randin Divelbiss and he confirms that he intentionally used the SS bolts in his bike display.
“If you’re a white person, you immediately are labeled a racist if you show any pride in being from Germany or Italy. You are called names like, ‘Nazi’ or ‘fascist,’” says Divelbiss. “Me and my group Madison Stop Speeding are concerned about bicyclists and people being hit by cars. It’s a real problem. Have you seen how fast people go down East Wash, Johnson, University Avenue?”
In late July, a resident of Ald. Mike Verveer's downtown district sent him this photo of the "stop speeding" graffiti on West Washington Avenue.
Isthmus couldn’t find any mention online of Divelbiss’ group and he says no other members will talk to the media because they fear retaliation from “BLM terrorists.”
He doesn’t dispute SS bolts were used by the Nazis but says he’s using them because he has a First Amendment right to display the “runic symbol for victory.”
“I don’t support history books or media that defame Germany by transmitting falsities. If what is said about the Nazis is true, of course I don’t support that. I’m the opposite of that. I care about bicyclist safety,” insists Divelbiss.
Yikes. But if the goal is to get motorists to slow down, why use Nazi symbols to get that message across?
“Have you seen those other ‘slow down’ signs? They don’t work. We’re trying to get people’s attention,” says Divelbiss. “Would you be talking to me if I didn’t use the runic symbol for victory?”
Divelbiss’ graffiti campaign intensified in July with more messages of “stop speeding” using SS bolts popping up around the isthmus. A discarded futon on Johnson Street has a different message scrawled on it but it’s the same color spray paint. It reads “AZOV,” the name of a Ukrainian national guard unit that had been criticized for using Nazi symbols and its historic ties to far-right wing extremist groups. A similar message written on a boxspring mattress was also spotted on West Washington in late July.
