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I wish this asshole would wait until police report rather than blaming M.A.G.A. and pulling race card.🚨BREAKING: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson rushed to condemn a burning cross in Grant Park as an “evil symbol of hatred” against Black Americans — blaming White MAGA supporters.Reality: It was done by a 21-year-old anti-Trump Asian leftist named Merlin Lu, a senior at the University of Illinois.Lu built the cross, topped it with a red MAGA hat, soaked it in lighter fluid, and set it on fire as a protest against Trump, “MAGA Christian nationalists,” and the “ruling class.”He admitted acting alone. The FBI investigated it as a possible hate crime.Yet the mayor framed it as a racial attack on the Black community.The truth Thu 18 Jun 2026 09.11 EDThttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/18/man-charged-hate-crime-burning-cross-chicago?hl=en-USMan charged with hate crime over cross burning in Chicago parkMerlin Lu faces felony and misdemeanor charges after police released images of a suspect fleeing the scene 21- year-old man who admitted to setting fire to a cross in Chicago’s Grant Park last week is now in police custody on hate crime charges, per Chicago police.Merlin Lu was arrested and charged with four felony and four misdemeanor counts related to the incident on 9 June.Police released photos of a “person of interest” last week allegedly fleeing the scene. The photos showed a young man who appeared to be in his 20s, with dark hair, wearing a black backpack, dark trousers and white sneakers.The Rev Michael L Pfleger, pastor of Chicago’s Faith Community of Saint Sabina, offered a $10,000 reward for finding the perpetrator of the cross burning, which has long been associated with racism, white supremacy and the Ku Klux Klan.“This was so premeditated. You made this cross somewhere. You carried it, you got it downtown. You put it in one of the most visible spots in Chicago and then you set it afire,” Pfleger told ABC7, adding: “This is a decades-old symbol of hate and supremacy and the Ku Klux Klan. This is their symbol.”Lu spoke to NBC Chicago earlier this week before his arrest, where the University of Illinois Chicago senior claimed “my protest has nothing to do with race, nothing to with gender.” He said he placed a red hat on top of the cross to protest against Donald Trump.The station received a video last week in which Lu claimed responsibility for the cross burning, denied affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan, apologized to those who it offended, and criticized the US president.Lu told the outlet that he built the cross after carrying wooden slats from his apartment to Grant Park last Tuesday afternoon, then used toilet paper and lighter fluid to start the fire.He denied it was a hate crime, but said he should have protested a different way,“I did know about this historical relevance beforehand, but I didn’t know the severity, how racially motivated it may seem from what I did,” Lu said. “I wanted to find something that I could do by myself, like no organization, no friends.”Two of the four felony counts Lu faces are hate crime charges, with the additional two felony charges associated with arson and damaging city property. The four misdemeanor charges are related to breach of peace, reckless conduct, damage to property and cross burning to intimidate, according the Chicago police.Lu is scheduled to appear for a detention hearing on Thursday.Merlin Lu is a 21-year-old chemistry student from Naperville, Illinois, who was recently arrested and charged with hate crimes for burning a wooden cross in Chicago's Grant Park. Following the June 9, 2026 incident, Lu gave an interview to NBC 5 Chicago admitting to the act before being taken into custody by Chicago police. ​Key Details of the Case:​The Incident: On the afternoon of June 9, Lu allegedly carried wooden slats to Grant Park, assembled a cross, and used lighter fluid and toilet paper to set it on fire near South Columbus Drive. ​The Charges: He faces four felony and four misdemeanor charges, including two felony counts of a hate crime, arson, damaging city property, and cross burning to intimidate. ​His Stated Motive: Lu has claimed his actions were not intended as a racially motivated attack or an expression of support for the Ku Klux Klan. Instead, he stated it was an individual protest against the "ruling class," Christian nationalists, and Donald Trump, noting that he placed a red hat on top of the cross during the act. ​Public Reaction: Despite his claims of political protest, community and faith leaders sharply condemned the act due to the severe historical association of cross-burning with racial terror and intimidation against Black Americans. Lu later apologized, admitting he knew the history but "didn't know the severity" of how his actions would be interpreted.