A statue of Christopher Columbus in New York City's Central Park was vandalized with spray paint and stickers, authorities said Tuesday.
The phrase “Hate will not be tolerated, something is coming" was spray painted in white across the statue, and Columbus' hands were painted red, the New York Police Department said. Several stickers that said “Save Your Soul” were also placed on the statue.
According to police, a Central Park Conservancy employee discovered the graffiti at 7 a.m. Tuesday. No arrests have been made.
Last month, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito announced the statue was being reviewed for removal because of Columbus’s controversial history with indigenous people.
Recent events such as the violent protest in Charlottesville, Virginia, have reignited attention on contentious monuments across the country. Some have been taken down.
On Aug. 18, a statue of Roger B. Taney, the Supreme Court chief justice who wrote the 1857 Dred Scott decision that upheld slavery, was taken down in Annapolis, Maryland.
Protesters tore down a statue of a Confederate soldier in front of the Durham County Courthouse in North Carolina on Aug. 14.
