Chicago police said Tuesday that a person has been taken into custody in connection with a cross burning discovered June 9 in Grant Park, a downtown park famous as the site where Barack Obama delivered his victory speech after being elected the nation’s first Black president in 2008.
The large burning cross was found in the park, prompting a police investigation and the release of an image of a shirtless person they sought to question. Police said a person is in custody but did not immediately identify the individual or confirm a direct connection between the person in custody and the shirtless person in the image.
A 21-year-old college student subsequently told WMAQ-TV that he was the shirtless person in the image. The student said his protest was directed at President Donald Trump and was not intended as a racist statement.
“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,” the student told the station. “Cause my protest has nothing to do with race, nothing to do with gender.”
The student’s account has not been independently verified, and police have not commented on whether his explanation matches their findings. The investigation remains ongoing, according to police.