Man charged with hate crime in cross burning in Chicago park - BERITAJA

A 21-year-old man who admitted mounting occurrence to a transverse successful a Chicago parkland past week was successful custody Wednesday connected dislike crime charges, Chicago constabulary said.

Merlin Lu was arrested Monday connected 4 felony counts and 4 misdemeanor counts related to the incident connected June 9, successful which he is alleged to person “committed a dislike crime by starting a occurrence that caused harm to metropolis property,” constabulary said successful a connection Wednesday.

The large transverse was recovered burning successful Grant Park, prompting constabulary to hunt for the perpetrator and merchandise a photograph of the man they said was responsible.

Lu told NBC Chicago connected Monday that he was responsible for the transverse burning, which has a agelong history successful acts of group coercion against Black people, but said he intended it to beryllium a protestation of the national government, not a dislike crime, the position reported.

“I did cognize about this humanities relevance beforehand, but I didn’t cognize the severity, really racially motivated it whitethorn look from what I did,” Lu told the station. “Because my protestation has thing to do pinch race, thing to do pinch gender.”

Lu, a elder astatine the University of Illinois Chicago, said he placed a reddish chapeau connected apical of the transverse to protestation President Donald Trump’s administration.

Asked really he landed connected burning a cross, Lu told the position that it “came up to my caput 1 day.”

“I wanted to find thing that I could do by myself, for illustration nary organization, nary friends,” he said.

Lu said he should person protested different measurement but did not regret his actions.

NBC Chicago said it received a video past week successful which Lu claimed work for the transverse burning and added that he had nary affiliation pinch the Ku Klux Klan. Lu besides apologized to those who were offended successful the video.

In the video, he besides criticized Trump.

“I don’t want to hold till his word ends,” he said. “I don’t want to hold until he whitethorn aliases whitethorn not get impeached. I want him gone correct now.”

Lu insisted that his connection was not a threat to Trump, who he said he thinks should guidelines proceedings successful beforehand of the American people, according to NBC Chicago.

He said he built the transverse utilizing slats of wood and topped it disconnected pinch the reddish hat, a awesome of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement, which was not visible successful galore shots of the scene.

Despite the symbol’s humanities context, Lu told NBC Chicago that he did not execute a dislike crime and that he did not cognize a burning transverse is simply a awesome of the KKK.

“In nary measurement imaginable was that a dislike crime. I understand why it was interpreted that way, and I apologize for that, but no, the intent was not there,” he said.

Two of the 4 felony counts are dislike crime charges, constabulary said. The 2 different felony counts woody pinch arson and harm to metropolis property.

The 4 misdemeanor counts impact breach of peace, reckless conduct, harm to spot and transverse burning to intimidate, according to the constabulary statement.

Lu was successful custody Wednesday night. A detention proceeding has been scheduled for Thursday, constabulary said successful the connection announcing his arrest.

It was not instantly clear precocious Wednesday whether Lu had an lawyer who could speak connected his behalf.