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A 21-year-old college student has pleaded guilty to burning a cross in a popular Chicago park last week, but denied making the racist statement despite city leaders initially condemning it as a hate crime.
A University of Illinois Chicago official told NBC 5 Chicago on Monday that he was the one seen leaving the scene of the shooting in Grant Park last week, where onlookers filmed the cross going up in flames.
The man explained that he was protesting against President Donald Trump and placed a red hat on the cross to represent the MAGA hat. He said he did not realize that the protest would be considered racist.
“I knew before about this historical connection,” the man told NBC 5. “But I didn’t know the difficulty, that it could be seen as being motivated by racism in what I did. Because my protest has nothing to do with race, I have nothing to do with gender.”
A University of Illinois Chicago student told NBC 5 Chicago that he set fire to a cross in Grant Park to protest the Trump administration. (Alishia Abodunde/Getty Images)
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Hours after the report aired, Chicago Police confirmed to NBC 5 that a person of interest is in custody in connection with the viral incident. The Ministry issued a public warning on June 11 asking for the public’s help in searching for a person who “seems to be running away from the area where the building was built and a picture of a young man wearing a shirt with a backpack was burned.
In a statement, Chicago Police told Fox News Digital that they cannot release the names of potential offenders or persons of interest until charges have been filed.
According to NBC 5, the student who was previously interviewed sent the station a video in which he took responsibility for the incident and apologized to those who offended him, while reiterating his stance against Trump.
“I don’t want to wait until his time is up,” he said in the video. “I don’t want to wait until he is prosecuted or charged. I want him to leave now.”
President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in Washington. (Alex Brandon/AP)
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He denied that he was threatening the president when asked by NBC reporter Chuck Goudie.
“I said, I said you deserve to be tried by the American people,” he told Goudie.
“You use the word ‘end’,” replied Goudie.
“That’s what I’m saying. Ultimately, I don’t mean it like a civil war, if that’s the image you’re trying to imagine,” the student continued.
He told Goudie that he was protesting “Christian MAGA nationalists” and “the ruling class of the Trump administration” and did not think his actions should be considered a hate crime.
Historically, cross burnings in the US have been used to terrorize black Americans, and are most commonly associated with the Ku Klux Klan.
Photos shared by Chicago police of a person of interest who was seen fleeing an arson attack in Grant Park last week. (Chicago Police Department)
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Early media reports focused on strong racial motivations.
The AP report highlighted how former President Barack Obama delivered his presidential victory speech in the same park where the cross was found, and said the incident sent “shock waves” through the city, where more than 1 in 4 residents are black.
Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson said he was “deeply disturbed” by the incident, saying “hate has no place in our city.”
“Every Chicagoan deserves to feel safe, secure, and respected while going about their day or enjoying our public spaces,” Johnson wrote in a post on X Wednesday. “We will continue to work across city government to raise that standard and ensure that Chicago remains a welcoming, inclusive, and safe place for all.”
Mayor Brandon Johnson answers questions during a news conference at Chicago City Hall on Feb. 25, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
The local Catholic church, Faith Community of Saint Sabina, has also posted a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in the incident, AP reported.
Pastor Michael Pfleger of the Church of St. Sabina gave a statement at Block Club Chicago calling the act a hate crime.
“Racism has always been part of America’s DNA, and this week it reared its head boldly and loudly,” Pfleger said. “This rampant racism must be condemned by all races, religious communities and Chicagoans as it is done with the swastika and treated as a hate crime.”
Several members of the council’s Black Caucus also condemned the incident, commenting on the Block Club Chicago.
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“There is no good reason to burn a cross in the middle of a public park,” Ald. Maria Hadden (49th) said. “I think there’s an evil intent there, and that it’s probably a hate crime in some way, shape or form.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Mayor Johnson’s office and the White House for comment.
