Vandals in Philadelphia defaced the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of the American Revolution in Washington Square.
The National Park Service said it had to hire professional conservators to clean the monument due to its porous, limestone exterior. The graffiti reads, “Committed GENOCIDE,” for the tomb of a Revolutionary War soldier who fought to overthrow British control of the colonies.
The tomb honors the thousands of American soldiers who died during the war, and a plaque on the memorial reads, “Beneath this stone rests a soldier of Washington’s army who died to give you liberty.”
The incident was reported last Friday, and the National Park Service says it will be cleaned up in two weeks.
The vandalism comes as protests and riots hit the city, along with most major cities across the country, in protest of police brutality and racism, sparked by the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis on Memorial Day.
Monuments and memorials of Christopher Columbus, Confederate soldiers, the World War II Memorial, and St. John’s Episcopal Church across the street from the White House, among others, have all faced defacement amid the protests and riots.
Though many of the protests have been peaceful, the riots that have broken out left businesses destroyed, public property desecrated, and some police officers assaulted or killed.
New York City has seen some of the most violent riots, with New York City Police Department officers attacked in some cases, including one who was struck by a hit-and-run driver, one who was beaten in the Bronx, and another who was “nearly killed” when a brick was thrown at him.
