A homeowner's Christmas display in southern Maine attracted the attention of the local sheriff after neighbors thought it contained a statement of support for the Islamic State militant group.
But fear not, explained York County Sheriff William King, after he visited the display in Limerick, Maine, this weekend.
"The callers were concerned that the home owner might be an ISIS sympathizer," King explained in a statement sent to Mashable. "Sheriff's deputies visited the home and the word 'ISIS' is lit up bright and clear. What is not so clear is that Santa Claus is 'relieving' himself on the words (see white stream)."
[img src="http://admin.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Santa-ISIS.jpg" caption="A southern Maine homeowner's Christmas display shows what police say is Santa Claus urinating on "ISIS," the acronym for the Islamic State." credit="York County Sheriff's Office" alt="Santa ISIS"]
That's right. A closer examination of the display revealed a Santa Claus statue apparently urinating on the acronym for the group, making the man's yard a Christmassy statement against militant Islam.
And that, the sheriff said, broke no laws.
"Deputies spoke with the homeowner explaining why the sheriff's office took an interest in his holiday display and the homeowner stated he was going to rearrange the lights to clear up any doubts about his message," King explained, later adding that "no law was broken and we did not tell him to take the lights down" in a second email.
The homeowner has not been identified.