John C. Calhoun statue vandalized in downtown Charleston

CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) - A second historic statue in downtown Charleston has been vandalized.

The word "racist" and a reference to slavery was spray-painted in red on the John C. Calhoun statue in Marion Square.

Initially reading "Truth Justice and the Constitution," the words "AND SLAVERY" were added underneath the phrase. Additionally, Calhoun's name on the statue now reads "Calhoun, RACIST."

The South Carolina native, who died eleven years before the start of the American Civil War, served terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, and was Vice President to John Quincy Adams. He was also known as a defender of slavery and a supporter of the South's succession from the Union.

Charleston Police continue to investigate after a Confederate monument located at White Point Garden in The Battery was found defaced with red spray paint on Sunday.

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."

That statue has since been covered up while crews work to remove the spray paint.

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