INDIANAPOLIS -- A man has been arrested after police say he damaged the Confederate statue at an Indianapolis park with a hammer on Saturday.
Police were called to Garfield Park just after noon after someone reported a man was destroying a statue.
When Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers arrived they found the man hitting the statue with a hammer and chipping pieces off of it.
Police arrested Anthony Ventura, 30, at the scene. He's charged with vandalism.
Video of Confederate grave marker defacement Garfield Park, Indianapolis. I DO NOT condone this! pic.twitter.com/3z4lzRuhIH
— Mass Ave Curmudgeon (@mass_ave) August 19, 2017
IndyParks has been debating whether to remove the monument from Garfield Park since the events in Charlottesville.
The memorial commemorates the burial of 1,616 Confederate soldiers who died at Camp Morton while prisoners of war. Local historians said unlike many of the monuments found across the country, the structure in Garfield Park does not attempt to glorify the Confederate soldiers' cause.
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