New York City Democratic Mayor Eric Adams said on Tuesday that he would donate $5,000 of his own money to anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest and convictions of the vandals who trashed a World War I memorial in Central Park.
Adams’s promise comes after New York’s monument to the 107th U.S. Infantry was vandalized by anti-Israel protesters on Monday with graffiti that read “Gaza” and “Palestine will be free.” Protesters also burned an American flag and plastered the memorial with stickers with messages like “Stop the Genocide. End the apartheid. Free Palestine.”
“In spite of the unpopular notion, I’m going to say it: I love America,” Adams said during a press conference in front of the memorial, according to the New York Post.
“We cannot remain silent when our symbols of freedom are desecrated by individuals who clearly hate our country and way of life,” he added. “I am not going to remain silent because our silence gives the belief that everything is OK.”
The monument to the 107th Infantry, first dedicated in September 1927, pays tribute to the members of the unit’s Seventh Regiment who were vital in breaking Germany’s Hindenburg Line during the final months of World War I. The Seventh Regiment had an incredibly high casualty count — with 396 men killed and 753 wounded out of 1,662 soldiers who fought. The monument was designed by Karl Illava, who served as a sergeant with the infantry.
“The 107th United States Infantry memorial in Central Park is a symbol of the freedoms so many fought and died for — the same freedoms many are abusing with cowardly acts of vandalism,” Adams said. “We cannot allow these symbols to be desecrated by some in our city wanting to cause chaos and disorder.”
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The mayor added that arresting the individuals responsible for the vandalism was a top priority for the New York Police Department (NYPD), which was running down several leads. New York Crime Stoppers is offering an additional $10,000 reward for information on the vandalism.
A monument honoring Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, a leader in the Union Army during the Civil War, was also vandalized in Central Park on Monday evening.
The anti-Israel protests in New York City were part of an organized “Day of Rage” demonstration that took place near the Met Gala, where celebrities gathered for the annual Costume Institute Benefit. It also fell on Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Zach Jewell contributed to this report.