SACRAMENTO -- The anti-war message a suburban couple hung below the rafters of their home was meant to be provocative: It's a soldier's uniform, complete with helmet and gloves, and the sign "Bush Lied. I Died," painted in black and white.

Since Stephen and Virginia Pearcy put up the display, it has been vandalized twice and put up again. Police are investigating the vandalism reports as well as a claim by a military mother that the display should be investigated as a hate crime.

"It's a message of dissent over the war in Iraq," Stephen Pearcy said. "The soldiers are being left out to hang" under misguided American policy paid for with U.S. tax dollars.

Deborah Johns of Roseville, co-founder of Marine Moms and Military Families, asked police to investigate the Pearcy display. "My son wears that uniform every day. It's an insult to hang it up like that."

Johns' point of view is getting support from military supporters who planned to protest outside the home Tuesday night. The Pearcys said they welcomed the discussion.