A burning cross that Chicago police initially investigated as a possible hate crime has been revealed as an anti-Trump protest by a 21-year-old man who claimed he was unaware of the symbol's racist connotations.
Incident in Grant Park
The incident occurred on June 9 in Grant Park, a prominent green space in Chicago's business district and the site of President Barack Obama's 2008 election victory speech. A cross was seen engulfed in flames, leaning against a tree, before firefighters extinguished the blaze.
Local Catholics expressed shock and outrage at the act. One pastor remarked, "It's just so disheartening and upsetting that this is happening."
In response, an art installation featuring a fiberglass heart with the word "Resilient" was placed at the same location, accompanied by a sign explaining it was part of a 2021 project by a local non-profit, moved there as a direct response to the incident.
Suspect Identified
While police and the FBI continued their investigation, NBC released an interview on Monday with Merlin Lu, a 21-year-old senior at the University of Illinois Chicago. Lu admitted to committing the act but denied any racist intent, stating his target was President Donald Trump.
"I don't want to wait till his term ends," Lu said. "I don't want to wait until he may or may not get impeached. I want him gone right now." When asked if this constituted a threat, Lu replied, "I said he deserves to stand trial to the American people... I don't mean like a civil war, if that's the imagery that you're trying to imagine."
Lu added that he had placed a red MAGA cap, a style worn by Trump supporters, on top of the cross, though this detail was not visible in photos or videos of the incident.
Awareness of Symbolism
Regarding the history of cross burning, Lu acknowledged, "I did know about this historical relevance beforehand, but I didn't know the severity, how racially motivated it may seem from what I did." He emphasized, "My protest has nothing to do with race, nothing to do with gender."
When asked if he should have chosen a different symbol, Lu responded, "Yeah, probably." The NBC reporter questioned how Lu could have completed nearly four years of university without learning about cross burnings. Lu referenced a Wikipedia page and a movie he thought was called "Under One Nation," likely referring to The Birth of a Nation, a 1915 film sympathetic to the Ku Klux Klan that featured a cross burning.
Arrest Made
On Tuesday, Chicago police announced that a person was in custody in connection with the incident, but no further details about the arrest were released.
