Man charged with hate crime over cross burning in Chicago park
The Guardian • • nation
Key Points:
- Merlin Lu, a 21-year-old man, has been arrested and charged with four felony and four misdemeanor counts, including two hate crime charges, for setting fire to a cross in Chicago’s Grant Park on June 9.
- The cross burning, a symbol historically linked to racism, white supremacy, and the Ku Klux Klan, prompted a $10,000 reward offered by Rev. Michael Pfleger to find the perpetrator.
- Lu admitted to constructing and burning the cross as a protest against Donald Trump, denying any racial or gender motive and expressing regret for the method of protest.
- Charges against Lu include arson, damaging city property, breach of peace, reckless conduct, and cross burning to intimidate.
- Lu is scheduled for a detention hearing on Thursday.
