On Monday morning, local authorities in Plymouth, Massachusetts, were notified of graffiti plastered on several monuments, including Plymouth Rock, which is considered the landing site of the Mayflower and the Pilgrims at Plymouth Harbor shores in 1620.
Red spray paint was used to deface the landmarks, a stunt that fell on Presidents Day and ahead of the 400-year anniversary of the Mayflower’s arrival.
Janice Drew
Local tourism board See Plymouth released a statement toWBZcondemning the acts as “unsettling.”
“Seeing this type of disrespect for the historic reminders of the Mayflower story is both sad and unsettling,” Lea Filson, executive director of See Plymouth, said in the statement. “The outpouring of concern and anger over the incident has been a positive ending to a thoughtless gesture.”
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Jake Mowles, one local resident who volunteered to help clean the defaced monuments, told theBoston Globethat he was disappointed the vandalism came just after the community took measures to prepare for upcoming 400th anniversary festivities, which begin in April.
“The town spent a lot of money beautifying the area for the anniversary,” he told the newspaper. “So we decided to volunteer our time to clean it up. I own the company so it won’t cost much out of pocket, and we love our town.”
According toUSA Today, local police scanned surveillance footage and searched the premises for empty spray paint cans amid the ongoing investigation, and a clear motive has not been determined.
source: people.com
