Accountant at Meridian Behavioral Health identified as suspect in vandalism of campaign signs

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

ALACHUA, Fla. – Circuit Court Judge Candidate Nathan Skop’s campaign signs have been vandalized in multiple locations over the past few weeks, including the addition of “Hitler mustaches” in black marker to several of the signs. Skop filed a vandalism report with the Gainesville Police Department, but the police have had little to go on–until Saturday.

On Saturday, July 30, a witness outside Brown’s Country Buffet in Alachua snapped pictures of a man wearing a face mask, sunglasses, and hat, who he said had written “STOP” and then drawn black hair and a miniature mustache on Skop’s face on the campaign sign posted there; the witness also got a clear picture of the license plate of the man’s car. Alachua Police Department has identified the suspect as Alan Geoffrey Geering, 51, a local “Antifascist” activist who is also an accountant at Meridian Behavioral Services, and a sworn complaint for a misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief over $200 has now been filed against Geering.

Alachua Chronicle received a tip that Geering uses the name “Al Gadze” on Facebook; the profile picture on the “Al Gadze” profile was updated yesterday to remove the picture below, but the previous picture is still available in Photos, showing a strong resemblance to Geering’s LinkedIn profile picture.

An earlier “Al Gadze” profile picture had a frame that said, “Sometimes antisocial. Always antifascist.” Posts on the page include links to fundraisers for “Black Power Blueprint” and a fundraiser using a featured image that says, “Dismantle White Supremacy.” “Likes” on the page include organizations such as Alachua County Labor Coalition, Anti-Fascist News, Anti-Nazi Gaming League, Coalition of Armed Labor, Gainesville Antifascists, Gainesville: City of Resistance, Human Rights Coalition of Alachua County, Madres Sin Fronteras, Marxism Festival, North Central Florida Indivisible, Reparations Now, and Women’s March Florida.

Geering’s LinkedIn profile says he was an ESE teacher in Levy County before a 7-year stint as an administrator and ESE coordinator at The Einstein School in Gainesville. He began working as an accountant in 2014, has worked for various companies since then, and is currently employed at Meridian Behavioral Healthcare.

Skop says the damage to the vandalized signs amounts to over $600, between the initial costs of the signs themselves and the cost and time it will take to replace them. He commended the citizen who reported the vandalism and thanked the dedicated officers of the Alachua Police Department for their investigative work and for filing the sworn complaint against Geering.