A person is in custody in a Chicago cross burning investigation, police say

This framegrab from a video taken by motorist Keinika Carlton shows a wooden cross engulfed in bright orange flames as it leans against a tree in Grant Park in Chicago on Tuesday, July 9, 2026. (Keinika Carlton via AP)

2026-06-16T15:41:45Z

A person is in custody in an investigation of a large cross set on fire in a well-known Chicago park, police said Tuesday.

The burning cross was discovered June 9 in Grant Park, where Barack Obama delivered his acceptance speech when he was elected the nation’s first Black president in 2008.

A man identifying himself as a 21-year-old college student told WMAQ-TV that he was the shirtless person in an image distributed by police when they were looking for a suspect. But police did not immediately say Tuesday if he’s the person in custody. The man said he was protesting President Donald Trump and not making a racist statement.

“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,” the man told the TV station. “Cause my protest has nothing to do with race, nothing to do with gender.”

Cross burnings in the U.S. have historically been seen as symbols of hate and intimidation against Black people and have often been connected to the Ku Klux Klan.

The Chicago Police Department’s communications office confirmed that a person was in custody in connection with the case, but no other details were released. An email seeking comment from the prosecutor’s office was sent Tuesday.

“I can’t speak to anyone’s motives. We can only speak to the impact. And the impact was devastating,” Mayor Brandon Johnson, who is Black, said when asked about the cross and the man’s remarks to WMAQ.

Read More

The man interviewed by the TV station said he was protesting the “ruling class” and Christian nationalists who support Trump. He said he put a red hat on the cross to signify a MAGA hat worn by the president’s allies.

The man said he doesn’t consider what he did a hate crime.

“I understand why it was interpreted that way, and I apologize for that, but no, the intent was not there,” he said.

Gina Miranda Samuels, faculty director of the Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture at the University of Chicago, said the man seemed sincere that he was not trying to send a hateful message to Black people.

Sign up for Morning Wire: Our flagship newsletter breaks down the biggest headlines of the day.

Email address Sign up By checking this box, you agree to AP's Terms of Use and acknowledge that AP may collect and use your data pursuant to our Privacy Policy.

Nonetheless, she added, “it says a lot about how uninformed people can be” about certain symbols, “and that it would be acceptable to use a symbol of hatred and terror in this way.”

The Rev. Michael Pfleger, senior pastor with the local Catholic church The Faith Community of Saint Sabina, said he doesn’t buy that the man went to the trouble of making the cross but didn’t know it was a symbol of hate.

“Your Lawyer Schooled you well,” he said in a post on Facebook.

Officials from the church had posted on social media a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in the cross burning. ___ This story has been corrected to show that the man interviewed by WMAQ-TV said the hat on the cross was red, signifying a MAGA hat. It was not an actual MAGA hat.