A campaign event in Arlington, Virginia, for Republican gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears was disrupted late Thursday when an unidentified white protester hoisted a sign that compared the candidate’s stance on school bathroom policy to racial segregation. The placard read, “Hey Winsome—if trans can’t share your bathroom, then Blacks can’t share my water fountain.” Video circulating from the meeting shows fellow organizers asking the woman to put the sign away after it began drawing media attention. Speaking to local outlet Fox 5 DC, the protester, who declined to give her name, said the message was intended as satire meant to “provoke conversation around the absurdity of prejudice.” The episode triggered swift condemnation from across the state’s political spectrum. Earle-Sears, the first Black woman elected lieutenant governor in Virginia, called the sign “disgusting hatred” and urged opponents to denounce it. Republican officials pressed Democratic nominee Abigail Spanberger to respond; as of early Friday, her campaign had not issued a statement. The controversy comes less than three months before Virginia voters choose a successor to term-limited Governor Glenn Youngkin. Recent polls show Spanberger’s lead narrowing, and Republicans believe the incident could galvanize voters who backed Youngkin in 2021 over cultural issues such as school bathroom access.