Two Confederate monuments vandalized in uptown Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - Charlotte police are asking for the public's help after two Confederate monuments were vandalized in uptown Charlotte Wednesday.

Officers responded to the first damage to property call on E. Trade Street early Wednesday morning. There, they found the word "Racist" spray painted across a Confederate monument.

The monument, erected by the Confederate Memorial Association of Charlotte in 1977, is next to the old town hall and on City Hall property. Whoever is responsible is facing charges of defacing a monument on city property.

Charlotte police believe the monument was spray painted between 6 p.m. Tuesday and 6:45 a.m. Wednesday.

The second incident was reported later in the day at the Confederate monument on North Kings Drive, in between the Grady Cole Center and Memorial Stadium. There, someone covered the words on the monument with cement.

Many people have taken issue with some of the words engraved on the monument, which read, "Accepting the arbitrament of war, they preserved the Anglo-Saxon civilization of the South and became Master Builders in a Reunited County."

The monument was also at the center of a Mecklenburg County Commissioners debate in early July. Some wanted the monument removed. The idea was voted down.

Some NC lawmakers introduced a bill Wednesday that would make it harder to remove monuments like the ones vandalized. Senate Bill 22 would forbid the removal of any memorial, statue or plaque that commemorates part of North Carolina's history without state approval.

In the meantime, police are asking anyone with information about the vandalism to report it immediately to Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.

Copyright 2015 WBTV. All rights reserved.