Confederate statue at Charleston park vandalized

Police are investigating vandalism to a statue at White Point Garden in Charleston's Battery.

They say an officer was patrolling the park around 8 a.m. Sunday when he saw that a Confederate monument was defaced with red spray paint.

The statue was vandalized with messages that included "Black Lives Matter." On another side of the statue's base, paint reads, "Riley & Halely [sic] this is the root of our evil." A third message reads, "Why defend this evil," and the remaining side says ""Bill OreII is found racism."

The statue was erected in 1932 to the "Defenders of Charleston - Fort Sumter" by the Charleston Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

Its base has since been covered. Police say the City of Charleston Parks Department is working to clean it up.

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