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Statue Of Melania Trump Removed From Her Hometown After It Was Set On Fire

Statue Of Melania Trump Removed From Her Hometown After It Was Set On Fire

The artist who commissioned the statue thinks it was a targeted attack

Claire Reid

Claire Reid

A statue of Melania Trump has been removed from her hometown in Slovenia after it was set on fire.

The statue had stood near Sevnica in Slovenia but had to be taken down after it was burnt in what the artists who commissioned the piece believes was a targeted attack.

Brad Downey - the American artist commissioned the sculpture, told CNN: "I would be curious to see who did it. Someone doesn't like what it represents or how it looks."

Downey thinks the statue was burnt on Independence Day is significant and reckons it rules out it being a random 'drunken act'.

The artist says he commissioned the piece due to the 'anti-immigration narrative' he felt came out of the US, pushed by Donald Trump particularly.

He told the news outlet that it was a 'contradiction' for Trump to use halting immigration as such a major part of his presidency while being married to an immigrant.

Shutterstock

Downey commissioned a local artist in Slovenia called Ales Zupevec - who works under the name Maxi - to create the piece. He carved it from a tree using a chainsaw.

Downey has since uploaded a clip on to this Instagram page showing the statue being removed by a man with a chainsaw and hauled away by a crane.

Cops in Slovenia told CNN they were considering the case as 'damage to property which is a criminal offence'.

In a statement to Reuters, police spokesperson Alenka Drenik said an investigation is ongoing 'so we cannot reveal details to the interest of further procedures'.

The sculpture, which it's fair to say isn't a dead ringer for the US First Lady, was unveiled last year.

Downey says he hopes to interview who ever tried to burn it for a film he is working on ahead of an exhibition he's planning in Slovenia in September.

The real Melania in case you're wondering...
PA

According to CNN, he is working on an 'artistic response to the attack', adding that he'll 'probably try to do something in that location'.

The statue showed Melania wearing a pale blue outfit, similar to what she wore at her husband's swearing in ceremony back in 2017.

Downey said the badly burnt figure was currently being held in storage.

Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock

Topics: World News, Weird, Politics