Abraham Lincoln statue vandalized within 48 hours of unveiling in Kalamazoo

Gary Swain with the Kalamazoo Abraham Lincoln Institute talks with a group of people as he takes a break from cleaning the Abraham Lincoln Statue in Bronson Park in Kalamazoo, Michigan on Tuesday, Aug. 29. The statue was found with the words “38 Dakota warrior” spray painted on it the morning of the 29th (Nate Pappas | MLive.com) Nate Pappas | MLive.com

KALAMAZOO, MI -- A man was cleaning what appeared to be red spray paint on Tuesday, Aug. 29, from the base of a new Abraham Lincoln statue that was unveiled in Kalamazoo’s Bronson Park days earlier.

The statue was revealed to the public on the afternoon of Sunday, Aug. 27, and the paint was spotted Tuesday.

The graffiti was mostly removed from the base of the statue by 2 p.m. Tuesday. Photos from WWMT show the graffiti said, ”38 Dakota Warrior,” an apparent reference to the U.S. Dakota War of 1862, in which 38 Dakota men were hanged.

Lincoln approved the list of men to be executed to include those who had participated in “massacres” of civilians, according to text published by the Minnesota Historical Society.

A few hundred people gathered at 2 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 27, at Kalamazoo’s Bronson Park to see the statue unveiled. It debuted at the same time and place that Lincoln spoke at the park in 1856.

Cameron Brown, president of the Kalamazoo Abraham Lincoln Institute, said the “unfortunate act of vandalism” goes against the people of 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. “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.”

He asked anyone with information to call Silent Observer at 269-343-2100.

Red paint stains the engraving on the Abraham Lincoln Statue in Bronson Park in Kalamazoo, Michigan on Tuesday, Aug. 29. The statue was found with the words “38 Dakota warrior” spray painted on it the morning of the 29th(Nate Pappas | MLive.com) Nate Pappas | MLive.com

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