This story has been updated. 

Atlanta Police don’t need to worry about deducing the motive behind the vandalism of two businesses in Atlanta’s Cabbagetown neighborhood on Thanksgiving Day.

People claiming to be the suspects actually wrote about the crime on two anarchist websites. The suspects took aim at Sock Fancy, a web-based subscription service for socks, and Brother Moto, a coffee bar and garage for motorcycle enthusiasts.

A letter recapping the vandalism – purportedly written by the suspects – appears on Itsgoingdown.org and Anarchistnews.org. The letter was submitted to the websites anonymously, according to the posts.

“Last night, on the early morning of November 23, we vandalized the veneer of two boutiques on Memorial Drive in the Cabbagetown neighborhood of Atlanta,” the suspects wrote. “We used a fire extinguisher filled with white paint to completely cover the glass windows of Sock Fancy (a designer sock company, complete with a sock vending machine), and Brother Moto (a specialty coffee shop, designer clothing boutique, and faux motorcycle co-operative.) Like many Atlanta neighborhoods, Cabbagetown was once a working class neighborhood comprised predominantly of workers from the old Cotton Mill, which has been transformed into expensive condominiums. On Memorial Drive, abandoned factories once decorated with iconic graffiti have been torn down and luxury condos and Sprouts (a ‘green’ grocery store chain) are being built to replace them.

“We used simple means to accomplish our task and we hope to see more free actions taken against gentrification and capitalist developments. We hope to continue cultivating a clear sense of possibilities in our neighborhoods and in our lives, to know what streets are unlit at night, which yards have fences, who will not snitch, and how far we can free ourselves from the soulless rhythms of the American way of life.”

The business owners contacted police, and Atlanta Loop received a copy of the report. Both owners spoke to Atlanta Loop.

Jared Erickson with Brother Moto noted that the window of Sock Fancy was also broken. He sent these photos of the damage …

Erickson said he spent Thanksgiving morning cleaning up the mess.

“I get it. Atlanta is growing and there are too many overpriced condos going in,” Erickson said. “But to deface two small businesses that live in your community in the act of ‘protest’ is the silliest thing I’ve heard. Do a little research into the business’s you are ‘protesting.’ You are causing the very thing you are ‘fighting.’ A small business will not be able to stay in these areas and you will have a Starbucks instead.”

Stefan Lewinger with Sock Fancy doesn’t understand why his business was targeted.

“I just find us an odd target,” he said. “Sock Fancy is a homegrown business started by two Atlanta natives.”

He said the incident was “disheartening.”

“I would’ve rather it have been just some rowdy kids,” Lewinger said.