Graffiti defaces Lake Merced statues on Thanksgiving Day: 'This is stolen land'

The defaced statue of Juan Bautista de Anza stands in a parking lot near Lake Merced Boulevard. The defaced statue of Juan Bautista de Anza stands in a parking lot near Lake Merced Boulevard. Photo: Google Maps Photo: Google Maps Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Graffiti defaces Lake Merced statues on Thanksgiving Day: 'This is stolen land' 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

“Decolonize” and “This is stolen land!!” were brazenly written in red paint on the statues of two Spanish explorers near San Francisco's Lake Merced on Thanksgiving Day.

Defaced were the bronze depictions of Juan Bautista de Anza and Carlos III, the San Francisco Examiner reported early Thursday morning.

Statues of Spanish explorer, king defaced by vandals near Lake Merced



Via @laura_waxee https://t.co/zQp5uy8Rse — SF Examiner (@sfexaminer) November 30, 2019

Police told SFGATE the vandal or vandals have not yet been identified, adding the paint had yet to be removed by the Department of Public Works as of Sunday morning. However, an update from KTVU on Saturday stated the San Francisco Arts Commission would dispatch clean-up crews next week.

In 1775, Bautista de Anza led nearly 300 colonists on a 1,200-mile trek from Mexico to the land that would eventually be named San Francisco, also founding a presidio and mission near the area. Carlos III was the king of Spain during that time, and the statue made in his likeness was supposedly a gift to the city from King Carlos I of Spain, honoring the Bicentennial of San Francisco.

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The statues were relocated from Justin Herman Plaza to Lake Merced Park in 2003, after an original plan to place them in the median of Dolores Street three years prior became subject to swift criticism. The Board of Supervisors received floods of calls and emails from residents who viewed both figures as "symbols of imperialism and genocide."

"Find another place for those statues if you must, but not across the street from the graves of those who died in servitude to their inhuman treatment," was one message sent by protesters at the time.

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Police are reportedly investigating whether the incident is linked to a similar crime taking place on Columbus Day earlier this year, when vandals defaced the statue of Christopher Columbus below Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill. Also scribbled in red paint were comparable political statements: “Destroy all monuments of genocide” and “Kill all colonizers.”

Amanda Bartlett is an SFGATE associate digital reporter. Email: amanda.bartlett@sfchronicle.com | Twitter: @byabartlett