Black cemetery in Florida vandalized, 'Trump' graffitied on graves [View all]

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/black-cemetery-florida-vandalized-trump-graffitied-graves-2026-05-14/

Black cemetery in Florida vandalized, 'Trump' graffitied on graves
By Octavio Jones
May 14, 2026 12:59 PM CDT

PALMETTO, Florida, May 14 (Reuters) - Police in Florida are investigating vandalism at a historic, predominantly African American cemetery where 17 gravesites were damaged, ​with headstones knocked down and "Trump" and "DeSantis" spray-painted in red letters ‌on tombs, referring to the U.S. politicians.

Detectives believe the incident in Palmetto, a town around 31 miles (50 km) south of Tampa on Florida's west coast, occurred within ​the past few weeks. No arrests have been made and the ​investigation continues, the Manatee County Sheriff's Office said in a ⁠statement on Tuesday.

Glenn Searls, 77, said on Wednesday he felt "extreme anger" ​at the vandalism at the Old Memphis Cemetery, where members of his ​family, and others he knows, are buried.

"When you look and you see 'DeSantis' and 'Trump' spray-painted on a vault, it makes you wonder if it's politically motivated, and I tend ​to believe it is," Searls said of damage to the cemetery established ​in 1904 for Black residents of Palmetto's Memphis neighborhood.

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But the Supreme Court of the United States said there is no more racism