Wyandotte DA says slur painted outside his church was politically motivated
Police in Kansas City, Kansas, are investigating a hate crime in Wyandotte County after someone spray-painted a racist slur outside a local church.
The children’s choir allegedly found it on their way into Saturday morning practice at Grace Tabernacle Family Life Outreach Center.
And since then, Mark Dupree, the county’s district attorney and a senior pastor at Grace Tabernacle, said he’s heard of and seen threatening messages on social media against the local place of worship.
He said he thinks the crime was directly related to disagreements over how he runs the district attorney’s office.
“Hate is never appropriate and racism is never appropriate and we have to love everyone, even if they hate us,” Dupree said. He added the church has previously had graffiti on it, but not hate speech.
At this point, an investigation into who painted the word on Dupree’s church is ongoing. He said that he plans to press charges against whoever did it when they’re found. Police have knocked on doors in the surrounding neighborhood and are looking into area camera footage, Dupree said.
“We will continue to pray for whomever did it, but that is not OK and our children now had to experience something that, unfortunately, they shouldn’t have to in this day and age,” Dupree said.
He later said he was certain that the vandalism was tied to concerns over how he runs his office. He added that he doesn’t have control over everything that happens in the county, although he thinks people often believe he does.
Dupree encouraged people to not let their anger or actions “be triggered by half-truths.”
Residents have increasingly expressed frustrations, in social media posts calling for Dupree’s recall and an investigation into his office, with the district attorney’s office and the district court system recently.
A petition circulating online showed that more than 700 people are asking for increased accountability and transparency within the office, and it specifically cites concerns made while it was under Dupree’s leadership.
Mayor Tyrone Garner, who defended Dupree’s tenure as district attorney during a recent board meeting, replied to the incident in a social media statement.
“We are better than this .… let’s work harder to love one another, let’s spread love not hate …. we must unite to reject hate, and together let’s work to ensure the unwelcomed virus of hate never infects our caring community,” Garner wrote.
This story was originally published December 10, 2025 at 1:50 PM.
