Black spray paint was daubed on the face of the statue and over the inscription on the base. “PATRIOTFRONT.US,” was stenciled with white spray paint on the pedestal, the New York Police Department said.
Patriot Front is a “white nationalist hate group,” according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The six-foot statue is on display on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn for several weeks before it is scheduled to move to Union Square in Manhattan in July.
The NYPD said it is checking on the whereabouts of four males in connection with the vandalism. The NYPD released a video and a photo of what it said was the four walking toward the vicinity of the statue before the incident.
The office of New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, in a tweet, described the vandalism as a “racist, loathsome, despicable act of hate.”
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo directed the State Police Hate Crimes Task Force to offer assistance in the investigation.
Cuomo described the status as “a beacon for all who believe progress is possible, and in our ability to make it happen.”
He added: “And to the group of neo-Nazis who did this, I want to be absolutely clear: get the hell out of our state.”
