The new George Floyd statue in Newark, NJ vandalized

NEWARK — A week after it was erected, the George Floyd statue in front of City Hall was discovered to be vandalized on Thursday morning.

Newark police told RLS Metro Breaking News that they are checking surveillance footage to determine who put blackface, graffiti and a large sticker with white supremacy language on the 700-pound statue of Floyd.

Literature from a group called PatriotFront.us was left at the statue. The group has held rallies around the country in the belief that "America suffers under the rule of an occupied government," which has declared the American people too weak to revolt.

Mayor Ras Baraka and actor and filmmaker Leon Pickney, who commissioned the statue, and artist Stanley Watts unveiled the bronze statue on June 16. It is scheduled to remain in place for a year.

NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating vandalism to another newly unveiled George Floyd statue on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn.

Newark police on Thursday afternoon acknowledged New Jersey 101.5's request for more information.

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Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ