A protester holding a racist sign aimed at Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears ignited a firestorm of criticism this week after the image went viral.

Earle-Sears, the Republican nominee for governor, attended an Arlington County School Board meeting to oppose a policy allowing transgender students to use girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms. The Department of Education had warned the district its federal funding could be cut over the issue, drawing heated debate and demonstrations outside.

At a transgender rights rally, an unidentified white woman was photographed holding a sign that read: “Hey Winsome, if trans can’t share your bathroom, then Blacks can’t share my water fountain.” The comparison quickly drew bipartisan condemnation.

“I’m disgusted, but not surprised. This is the ‘tolerant’ left Abigail Spanberger defends,” Earle-Sears told the Daily Mail. “I’m an immigrant, a Marine, and above all, a human being. There is no place for this disgusting hatred in our Commonwealth. Anyone who doesn’t condemn this sign is complicit.”

Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Attorney General Jason Miyares also defended Earle-Sears, slamming the protester’s actions. Democratic nominee Rep. Abigail Spanberger distanced herself, calling the sign “racist, abhorrent and unacceptable.” Virginia (RELATED: Spanberger: Police Immigration Enforcement “A Distraction of Resources”)

The protester defended her actions, telling Fox5 the sign was “satire meant to provoke conversation.”

The November contest between Spanberger and Earle-Sears is set to make history, ensuring Virginia elects its first female governor. (RELATED: Loudoun Schools Put Politics Over Students, Parents Say — Earle-Sears Pushes Back On Radical Gender Policies)