#Statue of Melania Trump torched in her native Slovenia

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Life-size wooden sculpture of U.S. first lady Melania Trump last July after the fire.
PGE Krsko

A wooden statue of first lady Melania Trump was torched near her hometown of Sevnica, Slovenia, on July Fourth, according to the artist who commissioned the sculpture.

Brad Downey, a Berlin-based American artist, told Reuters he had the blackened and disfigured life-sized sculpture removed as soon as police informed him a day later of the vandalism.

“I want to know why they did it,” said Downey, who had hoped the statue would foster a dialogue about the political situation in the United States and highlight the first lady’s status as an immigrant married to a president sworn to reduce immigration.

Melania Trump’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the news service.

President Trump in recent weeks has made preservation of statues in the US — even those of Confederate leaders who tried to defeat the union in the Civil War — a campaign priority as a number have been damaged by protesters demonstrating against racism and police brutality

Trump has pledged to take a hard line on anyone destroying or vandalizing historical monuments, as political activism against racial injustice swept across the country, threatening 10-year prison terms.

Downey, 39, said he had filed a police report and would like to interview the culprits, if found, for a film he is preparing ahead of his exhibition due to open in Slovenia in September.

“The investigation in this case has not been completed yet so we cannot reveal details due to the interest of further procedures,” police spokeswoman Alenka Drenik told Reuters.

Although the statue’s face was rough-hewn and unrecognizable prior to the fire, the figure was painted with a pale blue wraparound coat resembling the one Melania wore at Trump’s 2017 inauguration.

The figure was carved with a chainsaw by local folk artist Ales Zupevc from the trunk of a linden tree.

In January, a large wooden statue resembling Donald Trump, designed by a local artist last year, was burnt in Slovenia’s city of Moravce, east of the capital Ljubljana.

— With Reuters