Former Idaho university professor, Black Lives Matter spokesman, arrested for defacing Lincoln statue
Efforts to cancel Abraham Lincoln, the 16th U.S. president, have accelerated following the death of George Floyd last summer, with proponents of Black Lives Matter claiming that the president who promoted the 13th Amendment, ending slavery throughout the United States, did not do enough for black people.
On Tuesday, a Black Lives Matter activist in Boise, Idaho, was arrested for allegedly vandalizing a statue of the Republican president. Terry Joe Wilson, 37, was arrested after a warrant was issued last week.
The Idaho Statesman reports that Wilson, formerly an adjunct professor at Boise State University and who has been described in local media as a Boise Black Lives Matter chapter spokesman, was identified as one of the suspects in the vandalism incident, which occurred in February.
“Police responding to reports of vandalism discovered the bronze statue of Lincoln in Julia Davis Park — known as 'Seated Lincoln' — vandalized with feces, paint and signs,” the Idaho Statesman reported. “Parks and recreation staff were able to clean the statue, which was not permanently damaged.”
The Boise Police Department said that the suspect fled from officers when he was first approached. When police tracked him down a week later, he was found in possession of a firearm, marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
“Officers chased after Wilson and were able to stop him and take him into custody, at which time Wilson was found to be in possession of a firearm, marijuana, and drug paraphernalia,” said a police press release. “Wilson was taken to the hospital and was medically cleared before being booked into the Ada County Jail.”
Wilson has since been charged with several misdemeanours, including injuring monuments, ornaments, and public improvements, resisting and obstructing officers, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, the Idaho Statesman reports.
A quick glance at Wilson’s Instagram page shows him ranting against “fascist Donald Trump and neoliberal Joe Biden,” and expressing support for Black Lives Matter.
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Boise State University says that Wilson is “not a current student, nor an employee of the university,” reports the Daily Wire.
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