Police investigate incidents of harassment and intimidation against homeowners
By Erika Stanish
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Police are investigating several incidents of harassment and intimidation against two homeowners in Shadyside.
Police said they’re working to identify two people after a homeowner reported his yard signs were defaced with political and anti-national messages.
KDKA talked to the homeowner, who said some of the harassment started in 2020 but has gotten worse since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Back in 2020 election time, someone vandalized a couple of signs, whatever. No threats, no violence, no big deal,” Vasily Potanin said. “Since the Ukraine thing started happening, they figured out I’m Russian. For some reason, just because I’m Russian, they started assuming that I must support (Vladimir) Putin. They started sending me letters saying, ‘We want you to leave the neighborhood.’”
Potanin’s neighbor told KDKA-TV’s Erika Stanish that he’s also been threatened.
“They kept throwing stuff in our yards, throwing dog poop, throwing bags of rice with letters on them. The kids are afraid to go to the street now,” John Nasr said.
Nasr said two people specifically keep showing up and shouting slurs at him. Nasr said he is Lebanese and has lived in Shadyside for 16 years. He said he’s being judged for his accent.
“You are coming here calling me a Russian person because I look different than you, but you’re completely mistaken and a complete hypocrite,” Nasr said.
“The couple has nothing better to do than target somebody because of their nationality,” Potanin said. “Hateful messages are being sent in the mail like, ‘Leave our neighborhood,’ ‘You owe Putin favors,’ ‘You’re a spy.’ It’s completely ridiculous.”
Police said they are working to identify those involved. The FBI has also been notified.
“I don’t think this has any place in modern-day America. This is the land of the people who came from all over the world,” Nasr said.
Potanin said he plans to press charges against the pair. Anyone with information should contact Zone 4 police.
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