Arizona Confederate monument tarred and feathered

Robert Gundran and Gabriella Del Rio | The Arizona Republic

Show Caption Hide Caption Confederate monument tarred and feathered in Arizona A monument to the president of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, is found vandalized with tar and feathers in Arizona, Aug. 17, 2017.

PHOENIX — At least two Confederate monuments in Arizona have been vandalized in recent days, with one of them tarred and feathered.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety on Thursday was investigating the vandalism of the Jefferson Davis Highway memorial along State Route 80 outside Apache Junction. Davis was the first and only president of the Confederate States of America.

Also vandalized was the memorial to Arizona Confederate troops, which was spray painted overnight at the state Capitol in Phoenix. The white paint has since been removed.

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Civil-rights leaders this week slammed Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey's refusal to back removal of the state's six Confederate memorials.

State Rep. Reginald Bolding, D-Phoenix, has been opposed to Confederate monuments and memorials in Arizona, and publicly called for their removal in 2015. Despite his position, he condemned the defacement of the two monuments.

"Vandalizing these monuments is not productive," Bolding said in a statement. "This will not lead to the civil discourse and debate that we have been calling for. It is a short-term action that does not help the long-term goal of having these offensive monuments removed from state property."

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From afar, it was difficult to tell what was covering the monument dedicated to Jefferson Davis. The memorial that was once made up of red stone and concrete was covered in black tar with a thick coat of feathers.

The surrounding landscape of boulders and a cactus remained untouched.

Police found a black rubber glove at the scene, which was collected for evidence. Police searched the area for shoe prints, and took samples of feather and tar.

Residents who lived across the highway in Peralta Trails were unhappy about the vandalism in their backyard, making remarks as they drove by such as, "Arrest them."

One visitor scoping out the damage was part of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, an organization made up of male descendants of people who served in the Confederate army. He declined to comment.

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On Tuesday, Rebecca McHood fashioned the Confederate soldier monument at the state Capitol as a "participation trophy." Enraged by President Trump's claim that "bad people" on both sides were to blame for the violence in Charlottesville, Va., the 37-year-old headed straight for the Confederate memorial at the state Capitol.

Across the bottom, she strung a second-place participation banner. Across the top, she hung a ribbon that said, "You lost, get over it."

Arizona Capitol Museum worker on vandalism of Confederate monuments Jean Eddins of the Arizona Capitol Museum talks about vandalism of Confederate monuments and what Confederate history means for Arizonans. Sean Logan/azcentral.com

Both were inspired by memes where people had Photoshopped "consolation prize" or "participation trophy" over Confederate symbols, she said.

By early Wednesday morning, the banners were gone. But someone had painted "BLM," the acronym for Black Lives Matter, on the monument's base overnight.

The state Department of Administration — which handles maintenance and upkeep for memorials at the Capitol — said officials cleaned off the "BLM" paint Wednesday morning. Workers "power washed" the white spray paint from the memorial Thursday morning.

"We're responsible for care of all the memorials in that plaza and will continue to clean up if they're defaced," spokeswoman Megan Rose said.

Contributing: Maria Polletta, The Arizona Republic. Follow Robert Gundran and Gabriella Del Rio on Twitter: @RobertGundran and @gabbderio