Repaired bust of George Floyd unveiled in Brooklyn after spray-painted by vandals

Friday, July 23, 2021

Repaired bust of George Floyd unveiled after spray-painted by vandals

A refurbished bust of George Floyd that was vandalized was re-presented to the public on Thursday evening.

FLATBUSH, Brooklyn (WABC) -- A refurbished bust of George Floyd that was vandalized was re-presented to the public on Thursday evening.

The 11-foot-tall tribute to the man killed by police was originally unveiled in Brooklyn last month to mark Juneteenth.

It was only days later that vandals blasted the wooden bust with spray paint on the eve of the sentencing of George Floyd's convicted killer, former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin.

"I'm not gonna get emotional but to come up today, someone in the name of hate, came through the night and defaced it. In the night, when we couldn't see their face. They snuck in. It's really, really devastating," said statue producer Lindsay Eshelman at the time. "They seem to be very aligned with the things that happened at the Capitol. They seem to be incredibly focused on patriotism, but in my eyes. This was not 'patriotism' this was terrorism."

The bust was cleaned and repaired and Floyd's brother, Terrence, was on hand for its unveiling on Thursday.

The tribute to Floyd will be moved to its new home in Union Square.

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