"Burning Cross" Reminiscent of the Days of Jim Crow and the KKK Turns Out to Have Been a Hoax Perpetrated by a Left-Wing Gay Asian Man Who Now Claims He Had No Idea It Was a Symbol Intended to Intimidate and Terrify

He's saying this because he can be charged for making a terroristic threat, if Chicago wanted to prosecute an antifa leftist, which it doesn't.

But the possibility is there. So he's saying he had no idea the cross was used as a symbol of intimidation. See, he may have done the act, but, like Hillary Clinton, he didn't have intent.

Owen Gregorian:

Owen Gregorian @OwenGregorian

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Chicago Cross-Burning Incident Blamed on 'White Supremacists' was Carried Out by Leftist Anti-Trump/Anti-MAGA Protester | Margaret Flavin, The Gateway Pundit

On June 9, 2026, police and firefighters responded to a burning cross in Chicago's Grant Park.

The incident prompted immediate backlash, and one local church offered a $10,000 reward to help make an arrest, and local officials were quick to blame the incident on racism and 'white supremacists.'

Block Club Chicago reports that Rev. Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina Church, who offered the reward, noted, "Racism has always been a part of America's DNA, and this week it has raised its head boldly and loudly," Pfleger said in a statement.

"This bold rise of racism must be condemned by every race, faith community, and Chicagoan as was done with the swastika and treated as a hate crime."

In a statement Wednesday afternoon, Mayor Brandon Johnson said the police investigation "remains ongoing."

"Like many Chicagoans across our city, we were deeply disturbed upon seeing the images which have emerged following this incident," the statement said. "Hate has no place in our city. Every Chicagoan deserves to feel safe, protected, and respected while going about their day or enjoying our public spaces."

Several members of the council's Black Caucus learned about the incident Wednesday morning when asked about it by Block Club Chicago. Ald. Greg Mitchell (7th) was initially speechless when a reporter showed him a photo of the burning cross.

"I can't believe it's 2026, we are still dealing with stuff like that ... That's the simplest I can put it," Mitchell said.

As it turns out, however, the cross-burner is an Asian man, Merlin Lu, who burned the cross, adorned with a MAGA hat, to protest President Trump and MAGA.

I look forward to Gov. Pritzker holding Merlin Lu accountable because (MAGA) hate has no home here in Illinois, right?

-- Dan Proft (@DanProft) June 16, 2026

Lu, a senior at the University of Illinois Chicago, spoke with NBC.

"He's just scamming people," Lu told the reporter.

"We're just being scammed out of money, right. And I think that's a great reflection of how this country works right now, where money controls everything."

As for burning the cross, which the Anti-Defamation League says is one of the "most potent hate symbols in the United States," Lu responded, "I wanted to find something that I could do by myself, like no organization, no friends," he added.

"I did know about this historical relevance beforehand, but I didn't know the severity, how racially motivated it may seem from what I did."

The Gateway Pundit reached out to local police for additional comment and will be updated if a response occurs.

He says it wasn't a racist act because he just wanted to terrify the black population into voting against Trump, not just terrify them generally.

It's that ever-present "Because Trump" excuse.

The stunt took place in the same park where former President Barack Obama delivered his acceptance speech when he was elected the nation's first black president in 2008.

It sparked a furious backlash and prompted the Chicago Police Department to release photos of a suspect, which Lu has now claimed is him.

Police have confirmed a person is in custody for arson, but have not confirmed if it is Lu.

University of Illinois Chicago senior Lu told NBC Chicago he concocted the stunt as a way to protest President Donald Trump and the MAGA Christian nationalists that support him.

'He's just scamming people,' Lu told the outlet. 'And I think that's a great reflection of how this country works right now, where money controls everything. Money has power over health care. Money has power over transportation.'

The cross was set ablaze with a red MAGA hat on top of it.

So if you ever commit a hate-crime and need a defense, just say you were doing the hate-crime ironically to Raise Awareness of Trump's perfidity. Works every time.

See, he just saw the burning cross on a Wikipedia page and read no further.

Pressed by NBC 5 on how he made it through four years in college without realizing how hateful burning crosses were, Lu admitted the extent of his research was reading a Wikipedia page.

"I just saw the Wikipedia page with the movie with the, like, I think it's called like 'Under One Nation' or something like that," he said, misidentifying the infamous 1915 movie "Birth of a Nation," which popularized much of the modern KKK's imagery.

When Chicago BlacKKK mayor Brandon Johnson was asked about the now-confirmed hoax, he still insisted his political ally's attempt to frame the opposition was a frightening reminder of the KKK:

"It's a painful reminder of how hatred towards black Americans still permeates in our society."

Brandon Johnson is asked about the guy who set up the burning cross in Chicago:

“It's a painful reminder of how hatred towards black Americans still permeates in our society."

It was actually an Asian socialist’s protest against MAGA. Other than all of that, dead on, Mr Mayor. pic.twitter.com/d8gIM4RCJV

— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) June 16, 2026

Note that the "reporter" repeats his claim that he just didn't know what a burning cross meant as fact, while also claiming he's only "alleged" to have set the cross on fire (which she also says he "admitted").

It's very strange which admissions in this story are "alleged" and which legal-defense claims are "facts."

Happy Wednesday. The crows hung out just outside my window while I drank coffee. They'd finished eating and seemed to just want to be my friends.

posted by Disinformation Expert Ace at 12:18 PM

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