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Vandals scrawl ‘Racist Anthem’ on Francis Scott Key monument

A Baltimore monument to Francis Scott Key was defaced early Wednesday, according to a new report.

Police responded to a report of vandalism at 6:30 a.m. and found the 106-year-old statue splattered with red and pink paint and the words “Racist Anthem,” and “Slave Owner,” scrawled in black on its base, the Baltimore Sun reported.

Key wrote the poem, Star Spangled Banner, which would later become the national anthem, on this day exactly 203 years ago, while aboard a British ship during the War of 1812.

Two verses from the poem, “No refuge could save, Hireling or slave/ From terror of flight, Or gloom of grave,” were also painted in black on the ground near the statue.

Police are investigating but say they have no suspects.





Mayor Catherine Pugh said she was disappointed by the vandalism and that the city had no plans to remove the monument from Eutaw Place, where it was erected in 1911.

“We understand the freedom of expression, but there certainly has to be a more constructive and productive way to have a conversation about history,” mayoral spokesman Anthony McCarthy said.

The incident occurred a week after Baltimore removed four monuments honoring Confederate-era figures.

A statue of Christopher Columbus in Baltimore was vandalized in August and a monument to the explorer in New York City was defaced yesterday.





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