Graceland, the former residence of rock ‘n’ roll icon Elvis Presley, has been vandalized with various anti-police and Black Lives Matter slogans.
The wall and sidewalk outside the nearly 14-acre Memphis, Tennessee, estate were spray-painted overnight on Tuesday with words and phrases associated with the ongoing movement for racial equality, according to the Daily Memphian.
“Defund the MPD,” referring to the Memphis Police Department, was tagged in black paint on the sidewalk, and “BLM” was scrawled numerous times in black and orange paint across the wall surrounding the estate, which is located along a stretch of highway dubbed “Elvis Presley Boulevard.”
“Arrest Breonna Taylor’s murderers” was also painted in green across the wall overtop hundreds of handwritten tributes to the king of rock ‘n’ roll. A crew was spotted on Tuesday morning pressure washing the paint from the sidewalk.
Crews are cleaning up after someone spray painted the walls of Graceland with messages like “Defund MPD” “Arrest Breonna Taylor’s murderers” and “BLM” and more. I’ll give you a live look on @FOX13Memphis midday. pic.twitter.com/iggrafPLb8
— Shelia O’Connor FOX13 (@SheliaOConnor) September 1, 2020
A spokesman for the estate declined to comment when contacted by the Washington Examiner.
Concert venue Levitt Shell, an amphitheater where Presley once played, was also vandalized with similar graffiti. Natalie Wilson, executive director of Levitt Shell, told the Daily Memphian that it was the sixth time vandals have tagged the theater since 2019.
“For us to be used as a platform for the unrest in our society is unacceptable,” Wilson said.
The cost to clean up the concert venue is expected to be $150,000 because it is a historic landmark, Fox 13 reported.
