A College Republicans mural on the University of Minnesota campus was repeatedly vandalized during the fall semester, most recently with calls to “alert Antifa” of the conservative presence on campus.
Vandalism of the mural, located on the campus’ Washington Avenue Bridge, seemed to begin in 2017 in response to the club’s support of President Donald Trump. As Campus Reform reported, the College Republicans’ mural was vandalized in Oct. 2017 with the words “end white supremacy,” and when some of the conservative students attempted to stop the vandals in the act, they were accused of “verbal and physical” assault.
Now, more than a year later, the vandalism is still occurring, and seems to be growing more aggressive. The group reports that its mural has already been vandalized twice during the fall semester, and was spray-painted with “Alert Antifa” in early November, which has some conservative students concerned. Members of the College Republicans reportedly were subjected to violent protests during an event featuring Lauren Southern last year when her speech was shouted down, and in some cases resulted in the alleged assault of students.
Several student organizations are allotted space to advertise on the campus bridge, and there are even signs warning that vandalism is illegal and comes with a $300 fine, The Minnesota Republic reports. But conservatives on campus are skeptical that school administrators will make any “effort to identify the vandals,” student Nick Majerus writes.
“However you spin it, Antifa is a violent group, and their presence on campus in the last few years in addition to their ‘call to action’ through the vandalism of the mural is, at the least, a little concerning,” he added, saying that “everybody should be able to condemn these acts of vandalism regardless of political leanings.”
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected]
