What to Know
- New York police say a racial slur defaced a historic burial ground where the city's blacks were once laid to rest
- The graffiti suggesting African-Americans should be killed were under investigation Friday at the African Burial Ground National Monument
- Thousands of skeletal remains from the 17th and 18th centuries — many of enslaved blacks — are buried at the site
A 57-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the vandalism of a historic burial ground where the city's blacks were once laid to rest, police said Tuesday.
The offensive graffiti suggesting blacks should be killed was found last week on a monument plaque at the African Burial Ground National Monument in lower Manhattan.
Ivan Nieves was taken into custody, NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea tweeted. "HATE HAS NO PLACE IN NYC," Shea wrote.
Nieves was charged with 2 misdemeanors, vandalism and disorderly conduct, according to court papers filed in federal court in Manhattan earlier Tuesday.
Attorney information for Nieves was not immediately available.
The NYPD Hate Crime Task Force had been looking at footage from security cameras in the area to try to find the perpetrator. It wasn't clear if that's how they identified Nieves as a suspect. It also wasn't known if he had an attorney.
Thousands of skeletal remains from the 17th and 18th centuries — many of enslaved blacks — are buried at the site.
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At the time, they were not allowed to be interred in traditional cemeteries.
