They Chose Their Target Poorly

Nike Ajax, Hercules, and Zeus missiles

Before there were Nike Shoes, there was the Nike missile defense system:

Nike missile [was] any of a series of U.S. surface-to-air missiles designed from the 1940s through the 1960s for defense against attack by high-flying jet bombers or ballistic-missile reentry vehicles...

Hercules missile sites in the United States were deactivated starting in 1974, after the signing of the Anti-Ballistic Missile [ABM] Treaty with the U.S.S.R. Hercules missiles in Europe were replaced in the 1980s by the more mobile and accurate Patriot system. In Asia, Nike Hercules batteries in Taiwan were active into the 1990s, and South Korea continued to maintain active sites past the turn of the 21st century.

Given that U.S.-based Nike missiles have been deactivated for fifty years, it's unlikely that this vandalism is politically motivated:[bold added]

The National Park Service is seeking the public’s help after extensive vandalism was discovered at the historic SF-88 Nike Missile Site in the Marin Headlands.

The incident occurred between the evening of March 15 and the morning of March 19, when someone broke into the site’s magazine, spray-painted hate speech on the walls and spilled hazardous chemicals inside, according to a bulletin released by the Park Service Wednesday.

The vandals “may have sustained chemical burns and may have needed medical attention,” the bulletin noted.

The crime of run-of-the-mill vandalism doesn't match the severity of chemical burns but your humble blogger admits that he doesn't feel very sorry for the perpetrators.

Nike missile display in the Marin Headlands (National Park Service)