Chicago man charged with hate crime for burning a cross

A Chicago man is scheduled for a court status hearing today on felony hate crime and arson charges after he admitted to setting a cross on fire in Grant Park and called it a political protest against the Trump administration.

Merlin Lu, 21, allegedly built a wooden cross on the afternoon of June 9 before wrapping it in toilet paper, soaking it in kerosene, placing a red MAGA-style hat atop and setting it on fire (CBS Chicago). A nearby tree caught the blaze before the Chicago Fire Department arrived to respond. Lu, who fled the scene shirtless, now faces two felony counts of hate crime, one felony count of arson, one felony count of property damage and additional misdemeanor charges.

Investigators identified Lu by cross-referencing surveillance images from the scene with his state driver’s license photo. They also traced a kerosene bottle cap to a Home Depot, where records show he had purchased kerosene and a lighter nine days prior. Speaking to NBC5 before his arrest, Lu said he did not regret what he did but agreed he “probably” should have chosen a different approach.

Cook County Judge D’Anthony Thedford denied prosecutors’ request to hold Lu in custody at his June 18 court appearance, ruling that the state’s evidence was insufficient to support the hate crime charges. The judge ordered Lu released under the first level of pretrial supervision, citing his lack of a criminal record and finding that he was unlikely to flee.

Lu, for his part, has defended the act as a political grievance. He told police he believes “the greatest threat to the American people is Trump, Epstein, their billionaire pedophile friends and their MAGA Christian nationalist base.” Upon his release, he expressed regret over the alarm his actions caused. However, he pushed back on being labeled a racist, calling such characterizations “a distraction.” His attorney separately argued that the cross burning was a misguided exercise of free speech.

Lu’s case comes as Asian Americans have grown increasingly vocal in their opposition to the Trump administration. His choice of protest symbol, however, is difficult to separate from the history it invokes. Burning a cross sends a discriminatory message that political statements cannot easily override, and one reality Lu himself acknowledged when he admitted he had underestimated its significance.

For a community that has itself experienced a surge in race-based violence and discrimination in recent years, the incident sits at the intersection of political expression and racial harm. Mayor Brandon Johnson addressed it directly, saying, “You can only speak to the impact, and the impact was devastating.”