KALAMAZOO (WWJ) - A newly unveiled statue of America's 16th president in a Kalamazoo park was the target of vandalism this week after someone spray painted it with red graffiti.
The phrase "38 Dakota Warrior" was seen in red paint at the base of the Abraham Lincoln Statue on Tuesday, Aug. 29, two days after it was revealed to the public on Sunday afternoon at Kalamazoo's Bronson Park.
The graffiti, which can be seen here via WWMT, is an apparent reference to 38 Dakota men that were sentenced to hang in Minnesota during the U.S. Dakota War of 1862.
Originally, 303 Dakota men were sentenced to death by a military commission for "massacring" civilians during the armed conflict between the U.S. and the Dakota, the Minnesota Historical Society stated.
Then-President Abraham Lincoln personally reviewed the convictions and only approved death sentences for a few dozen men while he commuted the sentences of 264 prisoners.
He later suspended the execution of one man, dropping the final number of convicted to 38.
The Dakota men were hanged on December 26, 1862. Historians state that it remains the largest single-day mass execution in American history.
Lincoln's decision was met with disapproval from Minnesota's white population and ultimately affected the 1864 election, experts with the University of Illinois added. When told by a senator that he would've gotten more support for his reelection bid if he had approved the execution of all 303 Dakota men, Lincoln reportedly replied, “I could not afford to hang men for votes,"
Over 160 years later, several hundred community members gathered at Bronson Park on Sunday, Aug. 27, to see the new statue, designed by sculptor William Wolfe, of the late president as it was unveiled.
The ceremony took place at the same time and place that Lincoln once addressed a crowd at the park back in 1856.
President of the Kalamazoo Abraham Lincoln Institute, Cameron Brown, told MLive that the "unfortunate act of vandalism" does not reflect the people who reside in Kalamazoo.
“It’s in complete odds with the outpouring of joy and celebration that was shown in the park just two days ago,” Brown said via MLive. “The city of Kalamazoo has filed a police report and is reviewing security footage. I don’t think people realize there’s a high degree of surveillance in the park.”
By 2 p.m. on Tuesday, most of the graffiti had been removed from the statue's base. It is currently unclear if a suspect has been identified in the case.
Anyone with any information about the incident has been asked to call Silent Observer at 269-343-2100.