{"id":2550,"date":"2026-06-17T04:05:50","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T04:05:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=2550"},"modified":"2026-06-17T04:05:50","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T04:05:50","slug":"a-person-is-in-custody-in-a-chicago-cross-burning-investigation-police-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=2550","title":{"rendered":"A person is in custody in a Chicago cross burning investigation, police say"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A person is in custody in an investigation of a large cross set on fire in a well-known Chicago park, police said Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Read more Republican Gov. Mike DeWine wants Ohio to abolish the death penalty, saying it is not a deterrent<\/a><\/p>\n

The burning cross was discovered June 9 in Grant Park, where Barack Obama delivered his acceptance speech when he was elected the nation\u2019s first Black president in 2008.<\/p>\n

A man identifying himself as a 21-year-old college student told WMAQ-TV that he was the shirtless person in an image distributed by police when they were looking for a suspect. But police did not immediately say Tuesday if he’s the person in custody. The man said he was protesting President Donald Trump and not making a racist statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did know about this historical relevance beforehand. But I didn\u2019t know the severity, how racially motivated it may seem from what I did,\u201d the man told the TV station. \u201cCause my protest has nothing to do with race, nothing to do with gender.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cross burnings in the U.S. have historically been seen as symbols of hate and intimidation against Black people and have often been connected to the Ku Klux Klan.<\/p>\n

The Chicago Police Department’s communications office confirmed that a person was in custody in connection with the case, but no other details were released. An email seeking comment from the prosecutor’s office was sent Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t speak to anyone\u2019s motives. We can only speak to the impact. And the impact was devastating,” Mayor Brandon Johnson, who is Black, said when asked about the cross and the man\u2019s remarks to WMAQ.<\/p>\n

Read more Grieving mom wants answers after son\u2019s body pulled from Biscayne Bay<\/a><\/p>\n

The man interviewed by the TV station said he was protesting the \u201cruling class\u201d and Christian nationalists who support Trump. He said he put a red hat on the cross to signify a MAGA hat worn by the president’s allies.<\/p>\n

The man said he doesn’t consider what he did a hate crime.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand why it was interpreted that way, and I apologize for that, but no, the intent was not there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Gina Miranda Samuels, faculty director of the Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture at the University of Chicago, said the man seemed sincere that he was not trying to send a hateful message to Black people.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, she added, \u201cit says a lot about how uninformed people can be\u201d about certain symbols, \u201cand that it would be acceptable to use a symbol of hatred and terror in this way.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Rev. Michael Pfleger, senior pastor with the local Catholic church The Faith Community of Saint Sabina, said he doesn’t buy that the man went to the trouble of making the cross but didn’t know it was a symbol of hate.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour Lawyer Schooled you well,\u201d he said in a post on Facebook.<\/p>\n

Officials from the church had posted on social media a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in the cross burning. ___ This story has been corrected to show that the man interviewed by WMAQ-TV said the hat on the cross was red, signifying a MAGA hat. It was not an actual MAGA hat.<\/p>\n

Read more Oil drops below $80 per barrel, while tech stocks weigh on a mixed Wall Street<\/a><\/p>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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