The statue of Admiral Raphael Semmes in downtown Mobile was defaced on Monday night, with a suspect already being booked and the monument restored.
Local media outlets reported that 20-year-old Mitchell Bond, a white male, has been arrested and charged with a misdemeanor after graffiting the base of the statue.
A two-person crew from the City of Mobile reportedly spent more than an hour power-washing the statue, and the spray paint can no longer be seen, per WKRG.
Bond, apparently sporting a t-shirt depicting former President Bill Clinton firing a gun, was hauled off to jail in handcuffs on Tuesday. His arrest came after investigators utilized surveillance footage of the incident, per NBC 15.
Semmes commanded the CSS Alabama in the Confederate Navy. He died in Mobile in 1877.
Originally dedicated in 1900, the statue of Semmes is covered by the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act.
George Talbot, director of communications and external affairs for the City of Mobile, told Fox 10 that “the statue was vandalized last night and a suspect has been identified. The graffiti is being cleaned, as we would do with any public property. Any decision on moving it would be collaborative in nature. There is a process for that, and we are listening to the community’s voice as part of that process.”
Semmes is a member of the Alabama Hall of Fame. The City of Semmes in western Mobile County was named after him, as was The Admiral Hotel (a Curio by Hilton property) in downtown Mobile.
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
