Racist vandals deface LeBron James' L.A. home with 'N-word' graffiti

Cleveland Cavaliers player LeBron James' Los Angeles home was vandalized with racist graffiti over night in an apparent hate crime.

TMZ Sports said that the word "ni**er" was spray-painted across the front gates of James' home.

"(M)ultiple LAPD units and a neighborhood patrol vehicle responded to the home early Wednesday morning. We're told the word was scrawled on the outer gate," wrote TMZ.

Police are reviewing surveillance camera footage in hopes of identifying a suspect.

James bought the house in 2015, but neighbors say that it has not been regularly occupied. The player was not at the residence when the vandalism took place.

Hate crimes have been on the rise in the U.S. since the election of President Donald Trump. Emboldened by the president's anti-immigrant and racist rhetoric, the threat of angry, white, right-wing domestic terrorists is an increasing and evolving fact of life in the Trump era.