A man from Albany, New York was arrested and charged with fourth degree criminal mischief as a hate crime after authorities say he destroyed a mural of Black Lives Matter.
Witnesses reported Ian Rawlinson, 43, to Albany Police on Thursday, September 16, for defacing the mural on Lark Street. By the time the officers arrived, Rawlinson had already left the scene, but they saw that he had sprayed various racist symbols, including a burning cross and “KKK” in white paint.
He was arrested near the Madison Avenue crime scene and charged in court on Friday, September 17th.
Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said the KKK painting on the mural was “clearly troubling” and certainly a “racially motivated crime,” the Times Union reported.
“It doesn’t reflect what we think of our city as a place of diversity and hospitality,” said Sheehan. “The speed with which this issue has been approached suggests that we all in the city government think that this hatred has no place in the city of Albany.”
The Albany Police Department issued a statement on the case: “Albany-year-old Ian Rawlinson, 43, has been charged with” Criminal Mischief 4th “as a hate crime. He is due to be tried in the Albany Criminal Court on Friday. “
According to Sheehan, the general services department cleaned up the graffiti. She added that when her witnesses visited the crime scene, they said they thought Rawlinson “may have had mental health problems or substance abuse.”
The Lark Street Black Lives Matter mural was created in June 2020, organized by the In Our Own Voices group, and repainted in August 2021.
“We wanted to focus on bringing justice … that we are still fighting for liberation,” Tandre R. LaGrone, CEO of In Our Own Voices, told CBS 6 Albany last month. “Last year we did the sketches and used some city money on it… but it was led by In Our Own Voices. This year we collected donated paint donations and used them to achieve this. “
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