A wooden sculpture of first lady Melania Trump in Slovenia was set on fire during the U.S. Independence Day weekend.

The news was confirmed by the Berlin-based American artist who commissioned the statue, Brad Downey. The life-sized sculpture was placed near Melania’s home town of Sevnica in Slovenia.

Downey said that the statue, which was damaged, blackened and disfigured, was removed on July 5th, soon after the police informed him of the incident. When asked, he said that he doesn’t know why anyone would do that.

The artist always considered the sculpture as a symbol of immigration and even hoped that it would “foster a dialogue” concerning the political situation in the U.S. and would highlight Melania’s status as an immigrant from Slovenia, married to the POTUS, who is committed to reducing immigration.

The sculpture was unveiled a year ago.

The 39-year-old artist has filed a police report and called for an investigation to find the culprits. He has also shown an intention to interview the culprits for a film he is working on ahead of his new exhibition in Slovenia in the month of 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 said in a statement.

The face of Melania’s sculpture was somewhat unrecognizable before the fire, however, it was painted in pale blue, in a wrap-around coat, similar to what FLOTUS wore during the swearing-in ceremony for her husband in 2017 after he won the U.S. Presidential elections.

A large wooden statue that resembled the U.S. President Donald Trump was torched in Slovenia’s city of Moravce. It was designed by a local artist.

Several monuments and statues across the U.S. have been vandalized amid protests against racial discrimination in the country. Trump has threatened to take strict action against culprits who are found damaging and vandalizing U.S. historical monuments.

Melania Trump
Melania Trump on her tour of Africa. Los Angeles times

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