Vandals cover Abraham Lincoln statue with strange graffiti, calling him ‘the executioner’

Spray paint vandals in Chicago on Monday covered the iconic Abraham Lincoln statue with bizarre slogans – including claims that the Great Emancipator was actually an “hangman.”

The monument – ​​which is located near the Chicago History Museum in the city’s Lincoln Park neighborhood – was defaced as part of an apparent act of protest on Indigenous Peoples Day, According to CBS News.

The messages included one message that said, “Lincoln was an executioner,” and another message that said, “May all empires from Turtle Island to Palestine be destroyed.”

The reference to Lincoln is an apparent allusion to the 16th president’s 1862 order that 38 Dakota men who fought with white settlers in Minnesota be hanged the day after Christmas.

Lincoln, a lawyer by trade, determined that 39 Sioux were guilty of murder or rape during an uprising that year. According to the Associated Press.

He ordered their execution, while commuting the sentences of 264 others – but later saved one of the accused from the gallows, giving him another reprieve.

CBS said Turtle Island is also a name in North America used by some indigenous peoples.

Police are still investigating the incident, which may have occurred during the night.

No arrests have been made.

This isn’t the first time someone has attacked the “Standing Lincoln” statue – in October 2022 an unknown group of vandals even splashed paint on the monument to draw attention to Indigenous Peoples’ Day. According to the Chicago Sun-Times.

That group used similar language, writing phrases like “Dethrone the colonizers,” “Land back!” and “Avenge the Dakota 38,” the outlet said.

Lincoln, who was born in Kentucky before moving to Illinois in 1830, is widely considered one of America’s greatest presidents, ending slavery and guiding the Confederate army to victory over the Union.