Man Charged with Hate Crime for Burning Cross in Chicago Park

A 21-year-old man who admitted to setting a large cross on fire in a Chicago park has been charged with a hate crime, arson and other offenses, according to police.

Merlin Lu told a TV station this week that he was responsible for the cross burning in Grant Park on June 9. But he claimed that he was protesting President Donald Trump rather than using the cross as a historical symbol of hate and intimidation against Black people.

Lu has been charged with four felonies and four misdemeanors, including a hate crime and burning a cross to intimidate, police said in a statement released Wednesday night.

“I understand why it was interpreted that way, and I apologize for that, but no, the intent was not there,” Lu told WMAQ-TV before his arrest.

It was not immediately known Thursday if Lu has an attorney who could speak on his behalf. He was scheduled 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.