"Patriot Front" Khaki wearers hack a Hwy sign in Alabama

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Travelers in Alabama driving on Interstate 65 to parties and barbecues on Memorial Day might have seen messages on digital road signs honoring veterans who died fighting for the United States.

But that’s not what some drivers near Clanton, Ala., saw on Monday. Instead, motorists reported seeing a sign that was apparently hacked to display the words “Reclaim America,” a white nationalist slogan, and “Patriot Front US,” referencing the white supremacist group that was involved in the deadly 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville.

“How does this come about?” wrote Sarah Hughes, a motorist who captured photos of the sign and posted them on Twitter. “Weird as hell.”

A contractor’s portable message board was hacked on I-65 in Chilton County, Ala., on Monday afternoon, John McWilliams, a spokesman for the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) West Central Region, told The Washington Post in a statement.

“A citizen alerted a nearby state trooper about the message, who then contacted ALDOT,” McWilliams said Tuesday. “ALDOT personnel immediately responded and turned the message board off. No other message boards on I-65 were affected.”

McWilliams added that ALDOT is investigating how the white supremacist language appeared on the sign near Clanton, about 40 miles northwest of Montgomery, Ala. Officials have given no immediate indication of who is responsible for apparently hacking the interstate sign.