WASHINGTON — A Confederate monument in a historic Fairfax City cemetery was vandalized early Thursday, and police are investigating.
In the early hours of Thursday, someone splashed white pain on the base of the Confederate graves monument. The paint was immediately removed from the monument in the community cemetery located at 10567 Main St.
“Obviously the cemetery is a cherished location for many Fairfax families; it’s not just a place where there is a Civil War monument,” said Fairfax City Manager Bob Sisson. “We are heartbroken that this happened.”
Nationwide, Confederate monuments and statues have been vandalized in the wake of deadly violence at a Charlottesville rally by white nationalists earlier this month.
“While the recent events in Charlottesville are abhorrent and inconsistent with the democratic principles of our republic, vandalizing graves also does not reflect the values of our community, our commonwealth, and our nation,” Fairfax City Mayor David Meyer said in a news release.
The 127-year-old Fairfax City monument honors the nearly 200 Confederate soldiers from around the area whose bodies are buried in the cemetery, Sisson said. Union soldiers are buried in the cemetery as well.
City of Fairfax Police Department is currently investigating the vandalism.
