A vandal defaced a statue of controversial Italian icon and 15th century explorer Christopher Columbus outside a Downtown Brooklyn courthouse in the early hours Monday.
The scofflaw spray-painted the letters “FC” in blue, along with some squiggly lines across the plaque at the base of the statue outside Kings County Supreme Court near Court Street at around 3:30 am, according to a spokesman for police.
The vandalism coincided with a federal holiday dedicated to the European explorer, which was renamed “Indigenous People’s Day” in some parts of the country to appease critics who denounced Columbus for his enslavement of the natives he encountered during his travels.
Cops have not made any arrests and the investigation for felony criminal mischief remains ongoing, according to the spokesman.
The city together with the Italian Historical Society of America erected the statue in 1971 under then-mayor John Lindsay, according to the plaque.
