Black cemetery in Florida vandalized, 'Trump' graffitied on graves

[dalton99a]

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/black-cemetery-florida-vandalized-trump-graffitied-graves-2026-05-14/

Black cemetery in Florida vandalized, 'Trump' graffitied on graves
By Octavio Jones
May 14, 2026 12:59 PM CDT

PALMETTO, Florida, May 14 (Reuters) - Police in Florida are investigating vandalism at a historic, predominantly African American cemetery where 17 gravesites were damaged, ​with headstones knocked down and "Trump" and "DeSantis" spray-painted in red letters ‌on tombs, referring to the U.S. politicians.

Detectives believe the incident in Palmetto, a town around 31 miles (50 km) south of Tampa on Florida's west coast, occurred within ​the past few weeks. No arrests have been made and the ​investigation continues, the Manatee County Sheriff's Office said in a ⁠statement on Tuesday.

Glenn Searls, 77, said on Wednesday he felt "extreme anger" ​at the vandalism at the Old Memphis Cemetery, where members of his ​family, and others he knows, are buried.

"When you look and you see 'DeSantis' and 'Trump' spray-painted on a vault, it makes you wonder if it's politically motivated, and I tend ​to believe it is," Searls said of damage to the cemetery established ​in 1904 for Black residents of Palmetto's Memphis neighborhood.

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But the Supreme Court of the United States said there is no more racism

[chowder66]

1. Vile. I hope they find who did this.

[a kennedy]

2. yah, and wouldn't it be fun to hang 'em up too??

Ya know just for old time sake. Bastards.

[hlthe2b]

3. Oh, gawd. I read the subject line and immediately felt sick. Damn, damn, damn...

And if my anger & tears could transmit to the family members and friends--and the community wherein this lies--believe me when I say they are yours. As is my sadness that this is the world we live in. No, Trump is not the only problem, but damn if he did not unleash the hell scape we seem to be experiencing today.

[Amishman]

4. I will make no assumptions on who did it or their actual motives, until someone is caught

Too many nuts out there of all kinds - the mentally unstable are drawn to political fringes.

Smollett being a high profile example, but there are plenty of others. Flynn Arthur, the Hope Baptist arson, Yasmin Seweid, EMU graffiti incident, and more.

No way to know what is behind it until someone is caught.

[yardwork]

5. Here's a thought.

It's fine to be skeptical and withhold your opinion until more is known. Ideally that would be done silently. As in, "I'm not sure of all the facts so I'll stay quiet until I learn more."

Posting that comes across as a bit... insensitive. Even if (and it's a pretty unlikely if) this turns out to be anything different from what it appears to be, the incident itself is highly painful for Black people who have been abused in so many ways.

[sakabatou]

6. I bet Dump would pardon these assholes