Donald Trump Jr has posted a hateful message on social media, bizarrely claiming that the destruction by lightning of a mural honouring the late George Floyd, is a sign from a ‘higher power’.
The Ohio mural painted in tribute to the late George Floyd was hit by lightning, according to witnesses. It was painted on the side of a former bar in Toledo last year, to honour Floyd after he died at the hands of a police officer.
The rambling Instagram post from Mr Trump Jr provoked a mixture of derision and disgust, as did a similar message Mr Trump Jr posted on Twitter.
Twitter user Wednesday Lee Friday responded: “You can always tell an adult knows what they’re talking about when they have to pretend an imaginary sky friend agrees with them.”
Painted by artist David Ross in July 2020, the mural has been used as a gathering point for memorial services since, including one held on the anniversary of his death.
Police have taped off the area, which is covered in bricks and rubble.
Witnesses say lightning hit the building on Tuesday, causing the central part of the mural to collapse. Weather-monitoring devices show there was a strike in the area at that time.
A City of Toledo spokesperson told WTVG 13abc that they were “heartbroken” to see the artwork damaged, and were planning to work with the arts commission to get it replaced. New locations for a fresh mural were being considered.
City building inspectors said that natural deterioration could also be responsible for the mural’s collapse, as the centre of the wall had recently been noticed bowing.
Floyd, a Black man, died in police custody on May 25 in Minneapolis last year, after being arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit bill in a shop.
A bystander caught the incident on camera, showing police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes. The video footage recorded Floyd saying: “I can’t breathe.”
Mr Chauvin was later found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter and sentenced to 22.5 years in prison
The case sparked an outpouring of grief and shock across the world, and led to nationwide protests against racial inequality and police brutality.
