A digital billboard at Lakewood Towne Center, south of Tacoma, ran a stream of political memes Tuesday night after an apparent hack, prompting police and property managers to cut power and open an investigation.
Witnesses said the electronic sign cycled for hours through images tied to conservative commentator Charlie Kirk along with AIPAC logos and other memes. Police told KIRO 7 they believe the board was hacked. The display was deactivated Tuesday night.
A Lakewood police officer noticed the screen and alerted mall management, who shut the sign while they looked into how the intrusion happened. KOMO reported the board stayed off for roughly two days and was back in normal operation by Thursday afternoon.
Property management said they are working with vendors and law enforcement to determine who accessed the system and to prevent a repeat incident. No suspects or method of entry have been disclosed.
Video reviewed by local media showed altered images of Kirk, a still of a YouTuber reacting to an Albanian military parade, and slides referencing AIPAC; one frame encouraged a sex act, according to KIRO 7.
Similar screen or public address takeovers surfaced this year. In October, Harrisburg International Airport said a 10-minute unauthorized recording delayed one Delta Air Lines departure 35 to 40 minutes before operations normalized. That same month, airports in Kelowna and Victoria, British Columbia, reported brief unauthorized messages on terminal displays and PA systems; Victoria blamed a cloud-based software issue. In February, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development shut off office TVs after an AI video appeared without authorization. In June, Columbia University said images briefly appeared on campus monitors during a cyberattack later linked to data theft.
Lakewood Towne Center is a large outdoor retail complex in Lakewood, Washington, near Tacoma.
Lakewood police and the mall’s vendors are reviewing logs and infrastructure around the sign to confirm the access path and whether additional safeguards are needed. Officials have not reported any broader systems impact beyond the sign itself.
