A 21-year-old man has been formally charged with committing a hate crime, arson, and other related offenses following the burning of a cross in a Chicago park, according to police reports.
Merlin Lu confessed to a local television station earlier this week that he was behind the cross burning incident that took place on June 9 in Grant Park. However, he claimed his actions were intended as a protest against President Donald Trump, and not as a symbol of racial hate or intimidation towards the Black community.
The police, in a statement released Wednesday night, confirmed that Lu faces multiple charges, including four felonies and four misdemeanors. Among these are charges for a hate crime and for using a cross to intimidate.
“I understand why my actions were perceived in that manner, and I apologize, but that was not my intent,” Lu stated in an interview with WMAQ-TV prior to his arrest.
As of Thursday, it was unclear whether Lu had legal representation to speak on his behalf. He was set to appear in court for a detention hearing.
“I did know about this historical relevance beforehand. But I didn’t know the severity, how racially motivated it may seem from what I did,” Lu told the TV station. “Cause my protest has nothing to do with race, nothing to do with gender.”
Lu said he was protesting the “ruling class” and Christian nationalists who support Trump.
Someone put a large, multicolored, glass fiber heart with the word, “resilient,” in the place where the burning cross stood in the park.
Lu’s LinkedIn page says he has attended college in Indiana and Chicago and was studying chemistry.