A statue of Martin Luther King Jr. in California was vandalized with “horrific graffiti” in a despicable act that’s being investigated as a hate crime, officers say.
Lengthy Seaside Mayor Robert Garcia stated the likeness of the civil rights icon at Martin Luther King Jr. Park was defaced over the July Fourth vacation weekend.
“The LBPD are investigating this as a hate crime and we’re working to catch whoever dedicated this terrible act,” Garcia tweeted Monday. “Our MLK statue is a logo of hope and justice for the group. This hate and desecration has no place in our metropolis.”
A photograph posted to Twitter confirmed the statue spray-painted with what gave the impression to be a swastika and SS bolts — two widespread neo-Nazi and white supremacy symbols, in line with the Anti-Defamation League.
“That is the second time in two years that the Martin Luther King Jr. statue has been vandalized because it’s been up at MLK Park right here in Lengthy Seaside,” the tweet learn. “This metropolis has a serious hidden white supremacists concern and it must be addressed ASAP.”
A Lengthy Seaside police spokesman instructed The Publish that cops responded to the park Friday afternoon for a report of hate- or bias-motivated vandalism and found graffiti on the entrance of the statue.
The graffiti was later eliminated by the town’s Parks and Recreation Division, spokesman Richard Mejia stated.
“The incident is being investigated as a hate crime,” Mejia wrote in an e mail. “No suspect info is obtainable.”
The hateful graffiti is “no small concern,” Assistant Police Chief Wally Hebeish instructed the Lengthy Seaside Publish.
“We’re taking this as severely as it must be,” Hebeish stated.
Metropolis officers changed a plaque on the base of the statue in February that had been stolen in 2019, the Los Angeles Instances reported. The likeness of King was reportedly put in on the acre-plus park in 1986.
“We should use this time creatively … and without end notice that the time is at all times ripe to do proper,” the plaque quoting King learn.
Activists held a “Stand for Peace” rally on the park Saturday whereas calling for an finish to hate within the California metropolis southwest of Los Angeles. Some folks held indicators studying, “White silence is violence,” KTLA reported.
“Our hearts had been damaged once we noticed the posts on social media,” organizer Mary Simmons instructed the Lengthy Seaside Publish. “We will stand by and do nothing, or we will rise up in opposition to it.”
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